


Ours is the Victory

by Doevademe (OriginalDaemon)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: AU, But the characters and plotlines are still there, Divided Into Arcs, Gaia is not the Big Bad, Gen, HoO never happened, M/M, Nico has a blessing from Nike, Nico was taken out of the Lotus Hotel by Octavian, Nico-centric, Octavian is a manipulative abuser, pairing is secondary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2019-10-08 16:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17389625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalDaemon/pseuds/Doevademe
Summary: Names have power.Nico knows that better than anyone, as his name is tied to the Goddess Victory.Burdened with a blessing that feels like a curse, Nico is a crucial piece in many schemes and battles... which he has no interest in.When a Greek demigod offers him an out, Nico jumps at the chance of freedom, unaware of the conflict this choice brings.





	1. Ara Victoriae: Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, welcome! This is a story that has been on my mind for nearly 6 months. Inspired by what was honestly a throwaway line in a previous fic, as well as the whole idea of "names have power" introduced in Lightning's Thief but never elaborated except to keep any given villain a "secret". This story will be heavily Nico-centric, and there will be heavy changes from PJO canon. I will completely rewrite quite a few deities' personalities, but I hope I can do so in an enjoyable way.
> 
> This story is Percico, because it's me, but the pairing is purely incidental to the journey ahead. This is the first time I write something where romance isn't the focus, so let's see how I do. It's also divided into "arcs", each with a name associated with the theme, which I'll explain at the end of each arc. The arcs themselves will be short, but I hope each one stands on its own.
> 
> So without further ado, on with our first arc: Ara Victoriae!

“ _Internuntius Victoriae_!” The Twelfth Legion's cohorts called as four invisible Aurae moved the _lectica_ towards a tower that had been built that very day to have a vantage point to observe the War Games.

Nico looked downwards from the _lectica_ and waved the laurel wreath in his hand, making them cheer. No one seemed to notice how half-heartedly he did it.

He gave his thanks to the Aurae before the wind spirits used their powers to make his chair rise in the air and land softly at the top of the tower.

He stood up and bowed his head in greeting to the Praetors, Jason Grace and Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, before taking his place at the Augur’s right.

“Try to look more upbeat,” the Augur said in a low, threatening voice as he subtly pinched his arm. “The Legion looks up to you for inspiration. Don’t let them down.”

Nico beat back a sigh as he plastered on a fake smile and raised his wreath for all to see. It seemed to be enough for the Augur, who nodded and looked towards Reyna so she could explain the rules of the War Game.

Nico tuned everything out from that point onward, knowing the Romans would be far too distracted by the game itself to look in his direction.

Looking at the War Games just depressed him. Someone of his standing could never be part of it. No one would dare to try and hurt him, and people would consider it unfair if he was part of any team.

He hadn’t asked for this, yet here he was.

“Who do you think will win?” Jason Grace asked, bringing him back to the real world.

That meant Reyna was refereeing tonight. This time he didn’t hide his sigh. At least the other Praetor didn’t try to talk to him unless it was important. Jason was just too much of a boy scout to understand he preferred not to be bothered. He believed that what happened a year ago made them comrades or something like that.

“The First or Second Cohort, probably,” Nico said, finally looking down and seeing Deathball was the game of the night. “The Fifth would have a chance, were you leading it today, Praetor.”

This was a small-scale game, of course, the Praetors, as well as the Augur, had chosen not to participate.

Jason gave an embarrassed smile at the compliment.

“Don’t count the Fifth out just yet, though,” Jason said looking at the dwindling forces of his original platoon. “I trained with them, and I got here.”

“That says more about you than them,” Nico answered. The Augur hid a smirk as he looked down. “I’ll keep that in mind, though.”

And with that, he pretended to be engrossed in the battlefield, ending the conversation for good.

* * *

In the end, the Third Cohort took the win by hiding behind the Fourth and Fifth and letting the First and Second wear each other down before attacking.

To their credit, the Fifth did remarkably well after losing nearly half of their own in the first few minutes, but they were no match for the First’s organization or the Third’s cunning.

Well, such was Victory.

As Reyna announced the MVP of the game, Nico took a deep breath before putting on a beatific smile the Augur had had him practice for hours on end.

“Congratulations,” he said in a stage whisper as he put the wreath on the chosen’s head before turning to the crowd. “Ave Sarah, Daughter of Ceres!” He shouted.

“Ave!” The Legion shouted back.

After that, his role was basically done. He began walking back to the _lectica_ , giving greetings and wishes of victory to any that wanted to approach him. After all, Sarah had done so the last War Game, and now she had a nice laurel wreath to show for it.

In fact, when you looked at the winners ever since he had arrived at Camp Jupiter, more often than not, the MVP had shared a few words with Nico and asked him to wish them luck, so it was more than just superstition.

The Legion didn’t even know the half of it.

The Aurae lifted his palanquin as soon as he sat, taking him towards temple hill, towards Victoria’s Altar.

He was keenly aware of the Augur following close behind.

* * *

 “What was that?” Octavian asked. The affable mask of the Augur finally slipping off once they were alone in the Altar. The usual sneer was in place, as he looked at Nico in pure disgust. “You’re supposed to inspire the Legion, not daydream the War Games away!”

Nico looked down, knowing that any response would just make Octavian punish him.

“But of course, what else can I expect of a _graecus_?” He continued, scoffing. “If Lord Apollo hadn’t promised me greatness I would have left you in that nasty hotel.”

“Maybe you should have,” Nico said, unable to keep quiet any longer. “You despise me, and the feeling is not exactly unrequited. I can’t be worth all that trouble.”

“ _You_ are not,” Octavian said. Nico noticed then he was in a good mood. Any other day he would have pulled out the whip he hid in his robes and hit him for being mouthy. “Your ability, however… I can’t allow it to fall into any of my enemies’ laps.”

“Then keep me hidden. Say I ran away or that I died and put the blame on one of them.”

“Do you take me for a fool? Of course I already thought of that!” Octavian screeched. “Believe me, I would love to pin your apparent death on Grace, but you’re more useful to me like this.”

He didn’t know why he even bothered giving him ideas. Maybe because he was so bored with the routine. Maybe because, even if he hated him, Octavian was the only person not to put him on a pedestal.

“My blessing doesn’t work like that,” he said. “I can’t give you any political victories.”

“Nico, Nico, Nico.” Octavian shook his head. “How come you can be so intelligent, yet so stupid at the same time?”

Nico didn’t answer. That was the kind of relationship he and Octavian had. There were no masks, no pretending. Behind closed doors, Octavian saw him as an equal. One he despised, but also one he needed.

“Tell me, how can you make yourself attractive for election?”

Nico thought for a few seconds. Octavian wanted Praetorship, and eventually, when he left service, become Emperor. To be voted into either of those positions, he needed to lead successful quests, become beloved by the Legion and the people of New Rome, and be patient until the people currently in office retired or died.

“You can’t,” he said simply.

Becoming a beloved hero was impossible for Octavian.

Octavian was a coward who preferred the safety of Camp Jupiter to a quest unless he could bring over the Legion to hide behind. He could be charming and had a silver tongue, but constant exposure to him led to the mask slipping off, showing the pathetic, power-hungry snake underneath. He was also impatient, preferring to “arrange” retirements rather than waiting for them to happen.

“Exactly!” Octavian beamed, looking almost proud. “Be too kind and people consider you weak, too humble and they know you’re lying. You can use subterfuge, but that leads to hatred and a short time in power. There’s simply no way other than luck and the right personality.”

Not exactly what Nico meant, but he wasn’t going to argue with him.

His back already had enough scars.

“Making someone else attractive to the masses, however? That’s laughably simple,” Octavian smiled as he looked at him. “Especially if it’s someone who brought victory after victory to the Legion with his mere presence. Someone who even gave our current Praetor Jason Grace the blessings needed to triumph over Mount Othrys last year.”

“You want me to back you in the next elections.”

“With every War Game, people become more convinced of your power, and in a few months, just before the Feast of Fortuna, our little Praetor will find himself on the wrong end of a spear during a Siege game. Why, so close to the Feast, the elections will have to be lighting fast. The backing of the _Internuntius Victoriae_ might just be crucial to choose the next Praetor.”

Octavian’s grin had turned manic. Nico shivered.

“Jason is the Legion’s best warrior,” he felt the need to point out. “He won’t just stay still while you attack him.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” Octavian patted him before rubbing his hand on his robes, as if he were dirty. “Accidents happen every day after all. Just last month, poor Dakota had to stay in bed one week after a bout of friendly fire. Anything can happen in the War Games.”

He gave a chuckle as he turned around and left the Altar, leaving Nico unnerved.

* * *

Just behind the Altar was a simple room with a bed and a drawer. Nico took off his robes and got into bed, even if he was unable to go to sleep just yet.

The next day would mark his third anniversary at Camp Jupiter. A banquet was being prepared in his honor, while hundreds of people, both from camp and from New Rome, would come by and ask for blessings from him.

He wanted to puke just thinking about it.

Nico was tired of the protocol. He was tired of it all. It was saying something that the highlight of his day was Octavian talking down to him.

Yet he had nowhere else to go. Octavian had made it clear that he was not to be trained. He was too important to risk being harmed. That it meant he couldn’t survive outside the camp’s protection wasn't just a bonus. Octavian had everything planned to make Nico defenseless and reliant.

There was always hoping for divine intervention, but for that, he would need to know who to pray to. He didn’t know anything about his godly parent except for the fact that it was a male god, and even if he did, he doubted he could ask for his protection. If he still existed, he’d be as Roman as the people he wanted to be away from.

The different texts the Romans had assured him the Greeks had been eradicated long ago, if he hadn’t been in that hotel, he would probably be dead alongside them. Sometimes he would have preferred it were that way, but the thought of death didn’t really cross his mind. If he had survived his brethren, Fate must have some role in store for him. Something inside him told him he had to remain alive.

He had analyzed every single course of action. There was no escape for him. He had to resign himself to be revered; a source of inspiration to the Legionnaires and a symbol of good luck to the masses. He had to resign himself to the fact that at the end of the day, Temple Hill, Camp Jupiter, and all of New Rome was to be his prison forever.

Victoria didn’t have children, and he had vague memories of a very human mother, yet he had been tied to her since he was aware.

Names had power, so the demigods say. His mother had named him Nico to honor the Goddess Victory and hope for a successful life.

He didn’t know if she had knowingly turned him into the goddess’s ward, but it mattered little to him. His name had given him a curse disguised as a blessing.

To sway the hands of Fate and bring forth Victory, he was Victoria’s Envoy, the _internuntius Victoriae_ , the Legion’s ace in the hole, as the Augur called him.

Something that set him apart from demigods, from legacies, even from his own sister.

Not for the first time, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t followed that blond boy out of the Lotus Hotel all those years ago, what would have happened if he had stayed with his sister.

Maybe he’d have a different life, he would have a family, he would remember more than just his first name.

He wouldn’t be so alone.

Shaking his head, he tried to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Tomorrow was a “big day”. He would need all his strength if he wanted to keep up his mask nearly all the time.

Thinking about 'what ifs' was worthless.

This was his life, and nothing short of a miracle could ever change it.


	2. Ara Victoriae: Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kind comments! I'm glad people are enjoying this little experiment! Now, without further ado, on with the second Chapter!

_Nico cheered as he finished first in the racing simulator. By his side, he could hear the disappointed groans from the other car-shaped cabins._

_He loved this place. Every other hour there was a new game to try, new foodstuffs in the buffet, new prizes to win. He had barely been in the hotel for a little over a week, so the novelty could wear off soon, but right now, he was living the dream._

_“Out of the way, pipsqueak!” An older boy said as he pushed him out of the cabin. Nico fell roughly on the floor, and the other kids started laughing at him._

_Nico’s face turned red from embarrassment. He felt tears at the corners of his eyes and ran away, taking the elevator and closing the door._

_He sniffled a little while thinking which button to press. Bianca said she would be in the Buffet, as she was hungry from playing her silly dancing game. Nico really didn’t want her to see him like this. She would sigh and tell him he had to stop being so sensitive._

_Not wanting to see his sister’s disappointed face, he pressed the button that would take him to the lobby. The Hotel staff barely noticed anyone on the lobby unless they were leaving or entering. He could calm down there, and then go to Bianca and tell her he was hungry, too._

_When the door opened, however, he noticed a blond boy a little older than him shouting shrilly at a bellhop trying to give him a keycard._

_“I need no such thing, you charlatan!” The boy stomped his foot. For some reason Nico felt like he needed to see this boy, or rather, the golden laurel wreath he had in his hand “I’m just here for…”_

_The boy stopped and dropped his gaze towards the wreath. It started to vibrate and pointed towards him. The boy looked at Nico and grimaced, but put on a smile so quickly Nico was sure he must have imagined it._

_“Hey!” He said, coming towards him. Nico blinked. It was the first time he remembered someone actually wanting to approach him. “Sorry about that. These guys don’t understand I’m already staying at another hotel.”_

_“You should apologize to them, not me,” Nico felt like pointing out. The boy’s smile twitched, but he nodded._

_“Of course,” the boy offered his hand. “My name is Octavian, by the way, like the Roman emperor.” His eyes shined when he said that._

_“I’m Nico,” he shook his hand._

_“Nico,” he repeated, still smiling. “This might be too sudden, but would you like to come over to my hotel? I’m new here, and I’d like to have someone to talk to during my vacation.”_

_Nico thought about it. Bianca didn’t expect him for another hour or so, and, despite this hotel being the best place ever, he still had to really find a friend he could talk to._

_Besides, when would he get a chance to hang out with an older, not ugly boy interested in him again? It might not happen in a lifetime!_

_The hotel staff looked at them nervously, but one look at the wreath on Octavian's hand seemed to keep them at bay._

_“Okay, but I can’t stay too long, my sister will worry,” he said. Octavian’s smile turned into a full-on grin._

_“You have my word.”_

* * *

“ _Internuntius Victoriae_!” They greeted.

“Please pray for me,” they pleaded.

“Thank you, _internuntius Victoriae!_ ” They thanked.

They greeted, they pleaded, they thanked. It was a never-ending cycle. This ‘celebration’ was nothing but a farce, an excuse to make their selfish desires a reality. He hadn’t felt even slightly thanked or celebrated. But dozens of legionnaires, as well as citizens of New Rome, had come by to ask things out of him, offering nothing in return.

He wondered, idly, if someone one day said Nico died, any of these people would actually know who that was. Did any of them know anything about him besides his title and his apparent knack for choosing the next MVP in the War Games?

As if to answer his question, a new face appeared by the Altar.

“Praetor,” he greeted. Technically, the Praetors and the Augur outranked him. He was a symbol of the gods’ power, but they were living examples of the might of the Romans with every day they fought.

“Nico,” Reyna greeted back. Nico’s shoulders sagged. When the Praetor called him by name, it meant she was in an ‘informal’ mood. “How are you doing?”

“Everyone and their mother have come here for blessings, literally,” he said. Reyna nodded, and he thought he saw a flicker of a smirk on her face. “A lot of the parents residing in New Rome came here to ask for their children’s success and victory at Camp.” He sat on the Altar, letting his legs dangle in the air. Anybody else would be scandalized at the lack of decorum, but Reyna was different.

“They are worried about their standing and their children,” Reyna said, as if she had been expecting Nico's torment. “What about the Legion, any strange or impossible requests from them?”

“The older ones have more of a hang of what I can do,” Nico said, evasive. Reyna stared at him some more. “But the probatio still don’t understand I’m not a wishing well.”

“Tell me.”

“I have been asked by seven people for material stuff, three asked for a quest, and at least eleven asked for love-related blessings.”

“I’ll give them a talk before the banquet,” Reyna said. “We Romans need to know our roots if we are to rise and succeed.”

“Before I show up?”

“If you wish.” She turned back and began walking away.

“Reyna!” He called, making her look back. “May Victory be with you on your future battles.”

Reyna looked a little taken aback but nodded, giving him something akin to a smile.

“I appreciate that.”

According to myths, Bellona and Victoria were close, as the Goddess Victory mainly favored triumphs in battle.

Reyna didn’t quite see him as a person, but as an extension of his patron, a way to indirectly be close to her mother. Still, he didn’t feel elevated to an unreachable symbol cluttered in praise and protocol around her.

And for Nico, that was enough.

* * *

The banquet was a very subdued affair. The tables were decorated gold and white, while the food and cutlery was only slightly fancy.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Octavian silently fuming about the celebration not being as grandiose as he had wanted. The senate hadn’t approved the budget for it, as it wasn’t a traditional Roman feast.

Nico would have to thank each of the people who had said no to the Augur personally later.

There was also certain soberness after what he assumed to be a very stern speech by Reyna over the importance of the Altar of Victoria and how it wasn’t to ask for “victory over your parents to get a new game console” or other ridiculous things.

In fact, many of the people with probatio tablets were playing with their food, refusing to look at him.

“I’m sorry to say it, but this banquet is terrible,” Jason said in a low voice. He was sitting on his right, but the voice carried over to Octavian, who tried (and failed) to suppress the urge to grit his teeth.

“I rarely get the chance to eat with everyone,” Nico said, trying to act as diplomatically as possible. “I wouldn’t know how it normally is.”

“Well, believe me, things are much more animated and less… dull,” he eyed Reyna, who just sipped from her goblet silently.

He looked at his plate. Despite supposedly being a special occasion, Octavian still forbid him to have anything that wasn’t fruit and cured meat. He had a reputation of a pure being, close to the gods, he couldn’t eat as everyone else did.

Something must have shown on his face, as Jason nudged him under the table showing him a piece of chicken.

His eyes widened. He looked left and right. The Centurions remained oblivious, as did the Legionnaires. Reyna had obviously noticed, but was still saying nothing, while Octavian was busy grumbling under his breath, occasionally looking at him.

He decided to kill two birds with one stone.

“Augur,” he said. Octavian turned to look at him with a frown. “Shouldn’t you do a reading? Tell the Legion of the Victories ahead.”

That seemed to do the trick. Octavian slipped on the mask of the Augur as he stood and produced a Beanie Baby, calling for the Legion’s attention. The man loved attention, and he loved his theatrics. Once the reading started, he put his whole focus on disemboweling the poor toy and stopped paying attention to Nico.

He took the chance and put the piece of chicken in his mouth quickly, savoring it. It was a little cold, but the flavor was unlike anything he had tasted since the Lotus Hotel.

“Thank you, Praetor,” he whispered. The Augur was just predicting how the Legion would defeat an ancient evil that year.

“It’s okay.” he smiled. For once, Nico didn’t find it completely irritating. “And I’ve told you to Just call me Jason.”

“That would break protocol, Praetor,” Nico said. He couldn’t be seen being close to the Augur’s worst political enemy, not unless he wanted the news to reach Octavian.

Still, he gave an apologetic smile to Jason, who just huffed.

It wasn’t the first time he gave him that response, after all.

At Jason’s right, Reyna snorted, but otherwise showed no other emotion.

The Augur finished his reading of stuffed doll’s guts with a flair, promising great victories for the Legion this coming year, thanks to his divine patron.

When he sat to his left again, he seemed more animated.

Nico felt some tension leave his body, as the Augur turned to chat about something or other with Michael Kahale, one of the Centurions from his Cohort.

It seemed he wouldn’t be getting a visit from Octavian tonight.

* * *

“You came… to apologize?” Nico repeated, almost stumbling. Normally, he only received people in the Altar during Feasts or before quests, but apparently one of the probatio had taken Reyna’s scolding to heart. The boy in question was kneeling down and avoiding his gaze.

“Um… yeah,” he said, almost cowering. If Nico were allowed to show emotion, he would laugh, as the boy was almost certainly older than he was. “I realize I shouldn’t have asked you for a quest. It was wrong of me to do so.”

Nico considered the boy in front of him. He was a little taller than him, but also somewhat overweight, with Asian features. He wondered how long he had stayed in the wolf house, and how long he had been on the Legion. The answer to both those questions was "Probably not very long".

Nico decided he was perfect.

“Then why did you do it?”

“I’m unclaimed,” he said. “I thought a quest would make my father acknowledge me.”

“What’s your name?” Nico asked, trying to sound as kind as he could.

“Frank, sir.” He began playing with his hands nervously. “Frank Zhang.”

Nico helped Frank up and sighed.

“Okay, first of all, don’t call me sir, _ever._ ” Nico took back his hand. “Call me Nico if no one’s around, or _Internuntius Victoriae_ in the presence of the Augur.”

Frank’s eyes widened. Nico asked himself if what he was doing wouldn’t come back to bite him in the behind later.

Probably not. There was no way the boy before him would ever rise to a position powerful enough for Octavian to notice him.

Frank nodded, taking him out of his musings.

“Second… there’s nothing to forgive,” Nico went behind the altar and took out some bread, giving half to Frank. “I have certainly heard worse reasons to ask unreasonable things.”

“Um…” he seemed at a loss of words. In the end, he just took a bite of bread to have an excuse not to talk.

“I… don’t know who my godly parent is either,” he admitted. “I can definitely understand where you’re coming from, so no hard feelings.”

“Wait, isn’t your mother Victoria? I mean, I assumed since…” he made vague gestures towards the Altar.

“There are no records of children of Victoria in Legion history,” Nico said, taking a piece of bread and observing it. “It’s almost as ridiculous as a child of Minerva.” He put the bread on his mouth, pleasantly surprised to find it fluffy rather than hard as a rock.

Octavian must have been in a  _really_ good mood that morning.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Frank pointed out.

“I also had a very much mortal mother,” he said in a tone that made clear he didn’t want to talk anymore about it.

After about ten seconds of silence, Nico wondered if he should just send Frank home and call the whole thing off.

“My mom was a soldier,” Frank said instead. Nico looked at him curiously. “She was a hero… _my_ hero.”

Nico spent the next hour talking to Frank Zhang, listening to his story of how he had come to serve in the Twelfth Legion. Nico in turn told him of his duties around Camp, of how he was technically not part of the Legion, and how his life more or less belonged to the Augur.

By the end of it, the Canadian boy looked far more relaxed around him.

“It’s almost lunch time,” Nico commented. He was sitting on the altar, just like he did when Reyna was around. “If I were you I’d hurry back to Camp. Your Centurion will be wondering where you are.”

“Oh, right!” Frank looked panicked once more. “Gwen will have my head on a pike!”

He stood up and began running, only to stop after just 20 feet.

“Thanks for the talk, Nico… and, you know, for forgiving me.”

“It was no problem, now go.” He dismissed him. Frank went back to running, leaving Temple Hill behind.

It was not quite friendship. Maybe the start of one, if he was being optimist.

That mattered little, however.

What was important was that Frank Zhang would see him as more human than anyone else at Camp. Someone who would come back to see him. Someone below Octavian’s notice.

Someone he could use to ruin his plans without it being traced back to him.

It was a stupid, unlikely plan, thought on the fly. The chance to actually use Frank Zhang may never arrive, but Nico would still go through with it, to have at least a little opportunity to get revenge on Octavian.

That was all he could do.

* * *

_It was as if a fog had lifted from his mind the moment he stepped out of the hotel’s lobby._

_Nico felt disoriented, wondering what had been so great about being cooped up with so many kids who didn’t even care about him._

_The amount of neon lights hurt his eyes (had Las Vegas always been this bright?), and he looked at Octavian's hand, which was still holding his, to try and get used to it._

_The boy began tugging harder as he led him towards the street and into a small car._

_He shoved Nico inside and closed the door before going into the front seat._

_“Take us to camp already!” He barked._

_An elfin girl with pink skin materialized on the previously empty driver seat. She gave a small frown and huffed, but started the car and began driving._

_“What… where are you taking me?” He tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge._

_“Child safety lock,” Octavian explained, bored. “It can only be opened from outside.”_

_“Where are we going?” He asked, getting more and more desperate._

_Octavian seemed to not care, looking at the car’s clock._

_“Only 16 hours,” he said. “Not bad, I expected a full day, at least.”_

_Nico tried to reach for the front seat and at least hit the driver away, but his hands went right through her._

_He tried the same with Octavian, only for him to catch his wrists and stared him down._

_“Listen here,_ graecus _,” he growled. There was no trace of the kind boy he had met in the lobby. “I just saved you from an eternity of feeding a bunch of spirits with your life force, so you better be thankful.”_

_“What are you talking about?!”_

_“Truth of the matter, kid, you were no better than cattle. Fattened, and then drained, over and over again. Who wants to live forever if it’s like that?”_

_“My sister! We have to go back for her!” He didn’t quite understand what Octavian was saying, but it sounded dangerous to keep Bianca there._

_“Sadly, I can’t risk going back, and I already got my prize anyway.”_

_Octavian tossed the laurel wreath on his lap. Nico became transfixed in its form, its smell… its power._

_‘Nike,’ his mind supplied, alongside images of warriors and athletes winning battles and contests. He hadn’t even realized it due to the lights outside, but both he and the wreath had started glowing._

_“Now, we have a few hours before we reach our destination,” Octavian said. His body was twisted so he could look at him directly from the front, as he put two fingers on his chin to force his eyes away from the crown and towards his face. However, Nico was not paying attention, his mind still reeling from the flash of information the wreath was giving him._

_“We have a few hours before reaching our destination,” Octavian repeated slowly, smirking as he pressed his fingers roughly against his cheeks, making him wince. “I’ll tell you what I expect of you once we arrive, but first…”_

_He took the wreath from his lap and started playing with it. Nico’s eyes followed the movement, almost as if hypnotized._

_“Tell me all you know about your abilities… and about a certain goddess I’m sure you’re well acquainted with.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have context! As you can see, Nico has not been beaten to submission, but so many years around Octavian has... twisted him a little. Like Octavian he seeks to use others to further his own goals, even if, in his beaten state as the Augur's prisoner, his only goal is to take some form of revenge on his abuser and get by.
> 
> In canon, Nico can't believe people would willfully beriend him due to his parentage. In this story, he can't trust others to form real bonds with him due to his power and religious importance, but they are still bonds, and they will be important next chapter.
> 
> Because if this chapter was about Nico's status quo, the next is about how it all falls apart. Don't forget that any comment is appreciated, and see you soon!


	3. Ara Victoriae: Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually the determining factor on the length of this first arc. I can now say with absolute certainty: only 2 more chapters until we close this arc and move to the next.

Nico’s chance came around sooner than expected.

As the Feast of Fortuna drew ever closer, the Legion, as was tradition, was preparing for a War Game in three days’ time. With it so close, Octavian finally deigned to tell him his plan to ascend to Praetor… and in doing so, offering him a chance to sabotage him.

He had expected to demerit his tenure as Praetor and stop him from becoming emperor at best, as there was no doubt in his mind someone as ambitious and two-faced as the Augur could get either position.

But to deny him the chance to even be Praetor for a year if not more? It was so tempting he had to remind himself of the punishment he could receive if the news of his involvement ever reached Octavian.

“So I have to bless Kahale too?” He asked, his mind working overtime with the new information.

“He’ll come publically tomorrow,” Octavian said dismissively. “Just another show of power to the masses.”

“Of course, he’ll be getting all the attention, especially with a public blessing,” Nico said. He had been around Octavian long enough to guess his thought process. “Just what you need to go about unnoticed while you attack Praetor Grace where he can’t see you.”

“Sharp as always, Nico.” Octavian laughed. “Reyna already decided the First and Second will defend the tower. All Michael has to do is focus on the Cohort furthest from Jason Grace’s precious Fifth. He won’t notice until my _spatha_ is already lodged in his chest.”

“Why does it have to be you?” Nico asked, despite himself. He wanted nothing more than for Octavian’s plans to be as full of holes as possible, but he would be suspicious if Nico didn’t at least point them out. “Doesn’t that increase the risk of you being seen?”

“If you want things done right, you have to do them yourself,” Octavian scoffed. “Who would I send? The Fifth Cohort is too enamored with their Praetor, and any other candidate would inform Reyna or blackmail me once I’m in power.”

Nico said nothing, letting him believe he had stumped him. He knew Michael would suspect Octavian’s reasons, but at the end of the day, the son of Venus owed too much to the Augur to rat him out.

“That’s not all, of course,” he continued, looking at him with a manic glint of his eye. “I want to see how life fades from his eyes myself. His dumb face as he realizes he’s not as invincible and perfect as he believes will be the cherry on top.”

Octavian’s grin made Nico think of a snake about to dislodge its mouth to swallow a rat. He felt nauseous as Octavian left, almost skipping towards the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

He didn’t really understand why Octavian shared his plans with him. Maybe he really thought of him as an equal, at least when it came to intellect, or maybe he just needed an excuse to hear himself talk.

Either way, it was the first time Nico had been truly scared of Octavian succeeding. That man could never become more powerful than he already was.

And the beginnings of a plan had already started wandering his mind.

* * *

Frank visited often. The boy was too soft, somehow unsullied by the harshness of being born into a world of gods and monsters.

He was having a hard time fitting in with the Legion, so he turned to Nico often just to talk about his day and find some of the companionship the Fifth Cohort hadn’t been able to provide.

Nico had found his venting to be shallow and annoying, but had endured it until then for the sake of a plan he had not thought of.

Now it was different.

“Are you sure no one in the Fifth knows you?” Nico asked him. “What about the Praetor? He still acts as your leader during the War Games, does he not?”

“Some of them,” Frank said, shrugging slightly. “He is the only one who knows my name, at least. I swear I’ve been called ‘Hank’ at least a hundred times since I came here last month.”

Nico hummed, pretending to care for the boy’s hazing as Frank went on and on about pranks his fellow legionnaires pulled on him.

 _“Patience,”_ he thought to himself, letting the demigod in front of him unwind. He needed him, so he had to play nice.

It took almost ten minutes for Frank to calm down. He looked almost embarrassed to have gone on such a long tangent.

“Frank, do you ever wonder why I don’t bless you?”

“You told me it’s because Octavian won’t ever forgive you blessing a Probatio,” Frank answered. Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was just so unassuming, so easy to mold.

Then again, Octavian might have thought the same of him, at first.

“Victory is earned, not given,” Nico said. “If you want to prove yourself to the Legion, to your father, you need to earn Victory, not have it fall into your lap.”

Frank seemed impressed by his reasoning, but most importantly, he was accepting of the new information, and trying to reconcile it with the image of the Augur Nico had painted him.

“Wow, so I guess Octavian really has the best intentions when forbidding blessings.”

 _“He took the bait,”_ Nico thought, hiding a smile.

“I’m afraid not.” He paused for effect. “The Augur’s limitations just happen to align with Victoria’s precepts in that regard.”

Frank was innocent, but not stupid. Just as he had figured out Octavian’s true nature from their conversations, he had now realized the extent of his control over Nico.

It was a risky move. He could only make Frank be willing to do anything to help him get away from Octavian’s grasp once. After that, he’d probably be too afraid to try anything against him again.

“He… forces you to…?”

“My blessings are only to further his political career,” Nico confirmed. “Michael Kahale came by earlier today on his orders. All part of his plan to gain power.”

“Why don’t you refuse?” Frank asked. “Tell the Praetors, stop him.”

“Unless there’s a replacement ready, that just means he’ll stay Augur, with no chance of promoting.” Nico grimaced. “The Augur has access to me all the time. I’m at his mercy. I give Victory to who he wants, or else.”

“That’s awful!”

“If there was a Pontifex Maximus, the story would be different, but…” Nico bit his lip. Frank looked ready to despair. Just what he needed. “There’s something we can do, though.”

“We?”

“I need your help,” Nico said. Frank gulped, before his face took on a determined look. “Do you think you can tell Jason Grace to meet me here tonight?”

“Uh… sure, I mean, I’m not exactly the guy’s best friend but…”

“Just tell him I need to see him, and that the Augur can’t find out.”

Frank looked unsure, but he nodded. He stood up and gave a salute, before marching out of the Altar.

As soon as he was out of sight, the miserable expression disappeared from his face.

He had to admit, when he acted brave, Frank Zhang made for an almost decent legionnaire.

_“Now let’s just hope he doesn’t screw this up.”_

Just as Octavian had an Augur mask, Nico wore the _Internuntius_ mask constantly. The helpless little boy who needed others to fight his battles in exchange for blessings.

Most didn’t realize wearing this mask was the way Nico fought. It was the only way of fighting Octavian had taught him, if only by example.

Now it was time to test it against his teacher. And he’d make sure Victory would be his.

* * *

Every minute after night fell was agonizing to Nico. Every other second he worried over whether Frank had bailed or not. He looked in Camp Jupiter’s direction constantly, feeling antsy when no one seemed to approach.

 _“At this point, I’ll even take Octavian coming to mock my attempt and punish me,”_ he thought.

Anything to stop the uncertainty.

“Nico?”

The boy jumped and turned around as fast as he could. Jason Grace had sneaked up on him, wearing a hoodie that hid his blond hair.

“Do you want to kill me?!” he shouted, before remembering who he was talking to and breathing deeply. “I’m glad you could make it, Praetor.”

“Frank told me it was important.” Jason shrugged as he looked around. “And that Octavian couldn’t find out.”

“He’s a reliable guy,” Nico said, more to himself than to Jason. “I just don’t think he’s meant for the Legion.”

Jason nodded. Nico shook his head and looked around. No other blonde in the vicinity, thank the gods.

“Praetor, I’m sure you know who the Augur really is,” Nico started. Jason nodded.

“A two-faced rat,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Let me guess, he finally has something against me to force me to retire.”

“In a manner of speaking,” Nico gave a small, nervous laugh. He looked around again. “He plans on a rather… permanent, form of retirement.”

He had expected Jason to be surprised, outraged even, but the Praetor just shrugged.

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Jason said. “He’s going to do it during tomorrow’s War Games, isn’t he?”

Of course, Jason Grace was Praetor for a reason. He was intelligent and a good strategist, which made his nonchalance even more puzzling.

“I… don’t think you understand the gravity of what I’m telling you.” Or the risk Nico was taking by telling him. “Octavian plans to kill you and make it look like an accident.”

“Do you think he’ll be able to? He’s lost the element of surprise.” Jason smiled. “Thanks for telling me, you probably saved my life.”

“No, I doomed you,” Nico said between gritted teeth. “You think Octavian trusted me without making sure I could do nothing about it?”

“What do you—?”

“I blessed him!” Nico snapped. Jason’s eyes widened. “Even if you’re expecting him, Victoria’s blessing will make sure he’ll win the ensuing fight, even if it’s against you.”

“Then why did you call me? To tell me not to take part?” Jason crossed his arms. “It’s for the Feast of Fortuna, I have to be there.”

Nico gulped. This was it. The only way he had thought of to save Jason and stop Octavian.

It only required him to reveal his biggest secret to someone else.

“I… I have a confession to make, Praetor,” he said, shakily. Jason arched his eyebrow. “I can give a stronger blessing… strong enough to make Octavian’s blessing not count.”

“So you want to give me that blessing.” Jason again smiled. “I knew you liked me, Nico.”

Despite himself, Nico rolled his eyes. Jason could be so childish.

“Yes, I will give you that blessing, but…” he swallowed around nothing. For some reason, he found himself afraid of what Jason would think of him once he found out. “You have to swear never to reveal what I say… or what it really means.”

Jason looked confused, but after looking carefully at his face, he nodded.

“I swear on my honor as Praetor of New Rome,” he said, hand over his chest. “After what we went through on Mount Othrys, do you think I’ll want to hurt you?”

_“That’s because you don’t know who I am.”_

Outwardly, he nodded, and made him kneel. Nico took some Olive oil he had hidden from his last meal (actually a small packet that came with a Caesar salad) and wet his fingers before marking Jason’s face.

“Jason Grace, may you fight with valor and strength, if you do…” he wavered. Jason opened his eyes and looked at him curiously. Nico averted his eyes. “…If you do, be certain Nike will reward you with Victory.”

A soft light enveloped Jason Grace, who for the first time, was looking at him as if he was a complete stranger.

* * *

He received no other visits except for the usual group of Aurae that brought him food. When the time for the War Games came the next night, only they were there to take him to the Fields of Mars.

He moved uncomfortably in his palanquin. Jason, for once, was ignoring him, while the usual cheers from the Legion came.

As the Praetors and Augur would take part in this game, it left the recently retired Centurion, Gwen, to be the referee.

Nico would be alone in the stands. Usually, it meant he could doze off without worrying about being seen by Octavian but, for rather obvious reasons, he couldn’t relax as soon as the spotlight was off him.

He climbed the stands and saluted as Gwen explained the basics of the Siege game. He kept a rapt attention on Jason Grace, who seemed bothered by something.

The night before, he had left after he had blessed him, without uttering a word. Nico had no doubt the Praetor would keep his promise and not tell anyone about his Greek roots, but that was only half a victory.

He still needed to convince Octavian that his plan failed because of circumstance, rather than his interference.

As the game raged on, he felt a little proud of Frank managing to break enemy lines under Jason’s command. The boy was quite proficient with a bow, and he (wisely) was keeping away from Michael Kahale, who, true to Octavian’s orders, was busy fending off the Third Cohort.

It was like looking at two magnets repelling metal on opposite sides. No one who fought Kahale or Jason managed to do more than stop them slightly before being flung away. People’s attention was mostly on the son of Venus and his public blessing, while most were willing to excuse the son of Jupiter as mere experience and rank.

His actual plan was working, give Jason so much attention Octavian wouldn’t have a chance to attack. He couldn’t blame him if he thought the Son of Jupiter was just the center of attention as usual despite his machinations.

As the game finished (The defending team won, as the Fifth was way too reliant on Jason and, surprisingly, Frank’s arrows), Nico allowed himself to relax.

It was done. Octavian has lost his—

A sudden yelp made him look in Jason’s direction. There, at his feet, was Octavian, his _spatha_ on the ground and Jason’s Ivlivs pointed at his throat.

Octavian looked at Jason with a mix of surprise and hate, before turning his gaze towards him.

Nico felt his blood turn ice-cold.

_“Oh no.”_

* * *

Demoted.

Octavian would remain the Augur, as his gift of prophecy was something no other child or legacy of Apollo could really do, much less to the extent the young man did, but he would no longer be a Centurion, and he would probably lose his seat in the Senate after the voting the next day.

Nico had won. He had won far beyond his wildest dreams, but he felt no pleasure at all at his victory.

The barbed whip hit against his back again, making him cry out.

“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” Octavian shouted, his voice high-pitched. “You _piece of shit_! You’re _nothing_! You… _Graecus_!” With every insult, he cracked his whip again, until Nico was nothing but a whimpering mess.

His toga was already in tatters, stained with his blood.

Octavian was breathing heavily. He raised his arm again, making Nico wince in preparation.

“You want to know something, Nico?” Octavian hissed. He began rolling up the whip. “You only delayed the inevitable.”

He walked up to him. Nico shivered in fear.

“Apollo has promised me greatness,” he said in a sickly sweet voice, the same one he used when he took him out of the Hotel all those years ago. “And I _will_ achieve that greatness. All you did was make sure I stay in this position longer… with _you_!”

A kick to the ribs. Nico felt the air leave his lungs, but he also felt relief. The kick was usually the last thing he did before going back to either the barracks or the temple, leaving behind some Unicorn Draught with which he could heal himself.

As if on cue, Octavian produced a small flask from his robes, and looked at it for what felt like an eternity.

“I want you to think about what I just said,” he said in a soft voice, moving the flask in circles. “Being against me will just prolong your suffering, Nico.”

Nico said nothing. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything other than wheeze.

“But I have been too nice… you haven’t really learned, did you? It’s time for that lesson to _stick_!” He smashed the flask against the floor, dropping the healing substance all over the floor. “Spend the night bloody and in pain! Maybe _then_ you will understand what happens when you cross me!”

“Octavian!” A girl said, running up to the altar. A messenger, judging from her attire. The fact that she had called him by name rather than title seemed to made Octavian even angrier.

“What is it?” He snapped while he turned, making sure to cover him with his robes. Nico didn’t know if the girl had seen him or not, bit decided to remain quiet to prevent further punishment.

“The barracks are on fire! We are under attack!” The girl shouted. “Reyna said… she said the attack was with Greek fire!”

Octavian didn’t speak for a few seconds, becoming incredibly still.

“Tell the praetors I’ll be there shortly,” Octavian said. “Despite our differences, I’m still a proud citizen of New Rome.”

He heard some shuffling before an eerie silence. Octavian moved, the robe no longer covering him.

And he began to laugh.

The laugh had a maniacal tint to it. Octavian seemed giddy as the green fire became more and more visible on the horizon.

“I knew they weren’t gone!” He said, mostly to himself. “Thank you Apollo! Not everything is lost!”

He turned to look at Nico.

“You may thank your breed for fixing your mistake,” he said, grinning. “After all, there’s no better way to gain power than a war!”

He ran towards the barracks, leaving him on the floor.

Nico tried crawling towards the spilled draught, trying to get at least a little bit to apply on his back. He must have looked so pathetic and helpless.

Knowing there was no use, he curled into a ball and sobbed.

His plan was to exhaust himself until he passed out, but he heard footsteps on the altar.

He stilled. Was Octavian back already? Was this all a trick to torture him further? Was it Frank, sneaking out to check on him?

“Hey,” a voice he had never heard before called as he was turned. He hissed in pain. “You alright?”

Nico must have looked incredulous, because the voice just gave an awkward chuckle.

“Yeah, stupid question. Here,” a hand in front of his mouth, offering him something. Nico tried to move away, certain it was trap. “It’s okay, it’s just some ambrosia.”

Nico wracked his brain, trying to place the voice to be certain that he wasn’t being poisoned. Octavian could blame his death on the invaders, then.

But the voice seemed sincere, empathetic in a way Octavian and many of his close circle weren’t. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth and chewed, surprised to find it tasted like some sort of seafood he remembered tasting long ago.

His body ached less, and his head turned to look at the owner of the voice.

A young man, about Jason’s age, with pretty sea-green eyes and an athletic build. He was giving Nico a small smile.

“Hey,” he said again.

Nico stood up, wincing. It still hurt a little.

“Hey…”

“So… kinda random question: have you seen a statue of Nike around here?”

“Uh, no. Sorry.”

What was this boy talking about? Furthermore, why had he said Nike and not Victoria? What was going on?

“Rats,” the boy muttered. He seemed to be debating with himself for a bit before hearing even more footsteps. “That sounds like far more than just two people,” he said, suddenly nervous.

“Huh?”

“Listen, do you know a way out of here?” he asked quickly. “I… I’ll take you along, if you want.”

Nico thought about it. Helping this boy escape in exchange for freedom. It was too good to be true.

Was Octavian testing him? He didn’t even have a escape route!

 _“Yes, you do,”_ a voice, very different to his own, said. He looked towards the boy, but he seemed to be far more preoccupied with the approaching party.

Gulping, Nico took the boy’s hand.

“Will you really? Take me with you,” he said. The boy, desperate, just nodded. “Ok, I… I trust you.”

Without really understanding what he was doing, he pulled the boy under the altar’s shadow and closed his eyes.

It felt as if he was falling off a cliff, quickly speeding towards the ground only to deaccelerate at the end and land softly on land.

Distantly, he heard police sirens and shouting.

“W-where are we?” his travelling companion asked. "How did we get here?"

“We're in Los Angeles,” he said. How did he know that? How was he so sure? “…I think.”

“What?!” The boy began pacing. “Oh this was _so_ not the plan! You… you have to take us back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Percy! Nice of you to show up three chapters into the story! You do realize you're one half of the main pairing, don't you?
> 
> More seriously, I had been debating on whether I should have more chapters with Nico's daily life before moving into the Jason Murder plot, but in the end I decided against it. Nico's status quo was stablished just fine last chapter, exploring it more when it was basically "stay in the altar, have the usual visitor, listen to Octavian rant and be power-hungry" would turn for a very dull chapter.
> 
> As you can probably guess, Octavian bringing Nico to camp and Nico's fabricated influence has also somewhat elevated him in the Legion's eyes compared to canon, which makes this fall from grace all the harder for him, and all the more painful to Nico. There's also the repercussions of the first ever Greco-Roman interaction in nearly 200 years being an attack instead of a forced exchange program, but that will be explored later.
> 
> Next time, we'll instead be getting Percy's POV as we get a little insight on what changed on the Greek side without Nico there (but not completely, some stuff will be revealed later). Don't forget to leave kudos and/or comment and see you (hopefully) soon!


	4. Ara Victoriae: Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do read the notes at the end of the chapter. They are kind of important.
> 
> This chapter had to be rewritten twice. I was just never happy with it until now. I tried to first summarize how PJO without Nico went, but it quickly turned dull and joyless, so I went with an implied backstory of sorts. I also needed to come up with a silly rhyme for the prophecy, and that ate up more time than what I'm proud to admit.
> 
> That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Percy didn’t know exactly when his life had taken so many turns that nothing could really surprise him anymore.

Maybe it had been after the sixth monster appeared out of nowhere to disrupt his mortal life, ending with him expelled or on the run.

Maybe it had been when he didn’t actually die defeating Kronos, despite The Great Prophecy being what he could only call willingly disingenuous about it.

Or maybe it was his uncles asking for his head one second and ordering him to help them the next.

Right now, though, he mostly blamed Hades.

After all, it had been his great idea to send a Fury after him when he was twelve, on false charges he might add. It had also been Hades who, as “compensation” for breaking into the Underworld twice, made him seek out Daedalus to let his soul finally be judged.

Now, it was Hades who had appeared in Camp after nearly a year since his reconciliation with the Oracle issuing a special quest and prophecy in the middle of breakfast, and had singled him out to lead it.

“I have heard the prayers of my subjects,” he had said after Chiron had asked him why he was visiting. “And I have decided to issue a quest… Return the symbol of Nike from the Ara Victoriae!”

Now, Percy had seen Chiron in many different situations. He had seen him as a kindly old teacher, as a centaur burdened by the years and the deaths of demigods, as a miserable man who had lost his job to a ghost, but this was the first time Percy had seen him blanch, almost ready to vomit.

“I also demand that the quest be led by him.” He pointed at Percy, almost dismissively. If Percy hadn’t been scared about being blown to smithereens, he would have probably protested beyond the undignified ‘WHAT’ he managed to shout.

Chiron said nothing as he led Hades to the Big House to discuss the quest’s details.

“Perry Jameson, come here in an hour with any two of your choosing,” Mr. D said, distracted. “If you’re lucky, we may not need to actually send you.”

Percy blinked at that. It was the first time the wine god seemed to care about a demigod that wasn’t his kid. In a way, it made him even more uneasy.

He looked at Annabeth, sitting at her table. She just nodded, leaving her siblings and sitting with him.

“So, any ideas of who’s going to be our third?”

See, that’s why he loved this girl. She was on the same wavelength as him. They both had gone through so much together that they could read each other perfectly.

“I’d suggest Grover but…” he made a ‘you know’ motion with his hand. Annabeth nodded. It had always been the three of them, and having him be one of the Lords of the Wild just meant he didn’t have time to go on quests anymore. “So I’m out of ideas, you?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking and… I’ve narrowed it down to three demigods,” Annabeth said. “First there’s a Son of Hecate that… what?”

“Hades roped me into this like… three minutes ago, and you already have candidates?”

“I’ve been thinking about prospects ever since Grover became so busy,” Annabeth deflected, her cheeks slightly rosy. “We don’t know what kind of quest this is, so I discarded the specialists and went for the jacks-of-all-trades.”

“Okay,” Percy said. The reasoning was just so _Annabeth_ he felt like smiling for no reason. “So, you were saying?”

Beaming back at him, Annabeth launched into a description of the possible demigods for this quest.

* * *

And that was how he, his girlfriend, and a new Hephaestus camper had been led to the Big House, as both Chiron and, surprisingly, Mr. D tried to talk Hades out of issuing his quest.

“It’s just too risky,” Chiron said, raising his hands in a pacifying manner. “Meeting with the… _holders_ of the symbol would be catastrophic all around.”

“I’m still taking pills from the Civil War’s headache,” Mr. D mentioned, for once looking a little worried rather than apathetic. “Maybe we should consult Father—”

“The symbol is mine almost as much as it is Nike’s,” Hades growled. “Maybe even more. Thunderhead doesn’t need to know everything around here.”

Percy coughed loudly, getting the adults’ attention. Hades smirked and turned to Chiron.

“Well? Go get your Oracle already.” Hades shooed them. “I have some details to iron out with my nephew.”

Mr. D grumbled, but followed Chiron outside as they went looking for Rachel.

“Now, Jackson, I’m sure you know your way around a quest by now,” he said, not quite glaring at them. Percy hated that he could pick up when the Lord of the Underworld scowls were not entirely filled with hatred. “But just to make sure: No harm will come to the symbol, no matter what.”

“You don’t have to worry, Lord Hades,” Annabeth said, maybe sensing Percy was about to put his foot in his mouth. “I’ll see to it myself.”

“Cute,” Hades said, face completely flat. He turned to Percy again. “The Fates told me, the symbol will be badly damaged by June 24. I don’t care if the Prophecy says otherwise; you _will_ retrieve the symbol by that date.”

“I… I’ll do my best,” Percy managed to say. It was the first time he had seen Hades that affected over something. It was actually scarier than the god’s usual demeanor.

“That’s not enough!” He said. His toga wailed as the souls that made it burned away and were replaced by new ones. “This is not your everyday treasure, it’s my—!”

Whatever Hades was going to say was interrupted By Chiron and Mr. D, bringing Rachel with them.

* * *

“So,” Leo Valdez said casually as he worked on the van that Chiron lent them to get to California. “Care to tell the mythologically illiterate what Nike’s symbol or an Ala Victoria is?”

Percy shrugged and looked at Annabeth. His girlfriend sighed.

“The Ara Victoriae, or Altar of Victoria, was a place where Romans prayed to Nike for victory in their battles,” she said. “It was destroyed and remade multiple times during the Christianization of Rome.”

“’Kay, and that matters to us because…” Leo drawled, opening the gas tank and pouring some drops of… something, inside.

“While linked to Roman history, what most people think of when mentioning the altar is a golden statue of Nike it had as a centerpiece,” Annabeth pulled out a rather thick tome with the words ‘Classical History’ written in ancient Greek on it and opened it. “A _Greek_ statue of Nike captured during the Pyrrhic Wars led by General Octavian, later known as Augustus, first Emperor of the Roman Empire.”

“ _Fascinating_ ,” Leo’s voice was thick with sarcasm as he continued rewiring every loose cable in the van. “So we go in, rob a statue, and go out without being seen, right?”

“Basically, yeah,” Percy said, distracted. His mind was still reeling from the Prophecy and the revelations that came from it.

 _A broken oath reveals a lie_  
_Leading you to the Setting Sun_  
 _The Angel’s power you must swear by_  
 _For the Shadow Master’s chains to come undone_

The words still danced around his head, still surprised that half of it had already come true even before leaving Camp.

Romans.

Roman gods, Roman demigods, maybe even Roman monsters! How was it even possible to keep to pantheons that shared that many gods apart for over a century?

In a way, Percy had been aware that there were Roman gods ever since meeting Janus, but he had thought they were only minor gods who didn’t have a Greek counterpart. The idea that his father had a completely different persona, maybe even with children of his own was just mind-boggling.

“Then just say that,” Leo said, bringing him back to reality. “I can do without the history lesson.”

Annabeth huffed, looking at their quest partner as if he had just insulted her mother (he kind of did, if Percy wanted to be philosophical about it) and finally looking apprehensive about preselecting him. Percy couldn’t blame either of them.

The news had them a bit on edge. Annabeth was coping by sticking her nose in a book, Leo by modding a van and being mouthy (he guessed, Beckendorf used to stay weeks in the Bunker when he was anxious), and Percy…

Well, Percy was waiting until he could slice at something… preferably a clawed something.

“Done,” Leo declared, closing the hood. “This baby will take us to California in just over 15 hours. Takes the shortest route, won’t run out of gas, and has just a bit of dusted winged shoes to help us literally fly over traffic! What a beauty, isn’t it?”

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. They weren’t really fans of Hermes’s winged shoes ever since Grover had gotten close and personal with Tartarus while wearing a pair when they were twelve. Annabeth sighed, but nodded all the same.

“That works,” she said and opened the back door. She stared at Percy with a ‘you chose him, you sit with him’ kind of look. “We should still make stops for bathroom breaks and food.”

Leo waved his hand dismissively.

“Right, right,” he said. Once they were all seated, Leo pressed a button on a remote and the engine roared to life. “So, I guess now is as good a time as any to mention the design flaws.”

“Design flaws?” Percy asked, dread already beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. Both he and Annabeth adjusted their seatbelts.

Leo had the decency to look sheepish.

“I don’t really have a license, so I programmed the car to get to Cali and then follow the closest cluster of godly energy… it could be wildly inaccurate,” he chuckled nervously. “I _can_ switch to manual if necessary, though! Mom has been teaching me the basics since I could walk.”

“That’s… not so bad.” Annabeth relaxed in her seat. “I guess it’ll be trial and error, then.”

“Yeah, not so bad,” Leo muttered. He pressed a button and the car hovered and started picking up speed. Leo took a deep breath before quickly saying “I also used really volatile substances to maximize mileage, so if we blow up, blame the Greek fire components in the tank!”

Before Percy or Annabeth could say anything, they were flung backwards by the car’s acceleration.

* * *

They did not blow up.

However, despite being Camp Half-Blood property, the car they were riding was as mortal as they came. A plastic gas tank could not hold the explosive ingredients for long, as they discovered on the day before the deadline, when the car broke down near a maintenance service tunnel north of San Francisco.

“I knew I smelled something burning,” Annabeth said, frustrated. Percy couldn’t blame her. They had been hopping from magical place to magical place all over California the past week, including Iris's hippie shop and a rather awkward visit to DOA Recording Studios. “How long will it take to repair?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news,” Leo said cautiously from under the car. Percy wouldn’t be surprised if the impish boy didn’t already hate and fear Annabeth. “The bad news, the car is totaled; it would be cheaper to buy a new car than replace all the melted and burnt parts.”

“The good news is that you have a cool cousin with a limo who can give us a ride back to San Francisco so I won’t have to call my father?” She asked, halfway between hopeful and sarcastic.

“Hah, good one. And here I thought you had no sense of humor.” Leo cleaned his hands on his jeans and pulled out a small black box beeping. “The good news are that I managed to salvage the godly energy tracker, and right now, it’s reacting like crazy.”

He offered Percy the device. He took it and pointed it towards the maintenance entrance. The beeping got even more frantic.

“Whatever it’s sensing, it’s in there.” He gave it to Leo, who just pulled a wire to shut it. “Annabeth, your turn.”

“If this is the entrance and not the lair of the god of sewers or something, expect at least a sentry,” she said as she looked at a map in her book. “If they guard their camp like they did their cities during the early days of the Empire, we might be able to sneak around during shifts. However, we need intel on where the Altar is, then we need a distraction.”

“I still have enough components for a few pouches of Greek fire,” Leo mentioned pointing to the small bags tied to his tool belt. “We just need to start a fire somewhere far away from the Altar.”

“Try to make it look like it isn’t _Greek_ fire, please. We’re going for stealth.” Leo gave thumbs up and she nodded. She turned to Percy and showed him a few pictures of people in togas and roman armor. “Take a good look: this is a Pontifex, this is an augur, and these are praetors and centurions, they are the most likely to go towards the Altar. Follow them and try to see where they have the statue.”

“What are you going to do?” Percy asked.

“I’ll help Leo; keep the heat off from him.”

“Aw, thanks, babe, but I handle heat pretty well,” he lit up his hand on fire and smiled. “I know, amazing, probably won’t even need the Greek fire.”

Annabeth punched him in the gut, not even turning away from Percy.

“We need to find a point to meet up. Well-hidden and near the entrance, any questions?”

“Yeah,” Leo wheezed as he clutched his mid-section. “If… if this turns out to be another godly shop, can you _please_ be the one to buy the gross energy bars as compensation? I can’t take the sawdust taste anymore.”

Annabeth seemed to be debating whether to hit him again, but Percy just stared at her, making her drop it.

“I hope we’re right this time,” Percy said as he looked at the ominous tunnel. “I don’t want to see what Hades will do if we miss his deadline.”

* * *

Luck, for once, was on their side.

They arrived in time for some sort of game the camp had, similar to capture the flag. Thanks to Annabeth’s book, they picked up on who were the head honchos leading the small armies around. The blond guy knocking down everyone that came his way seemed to be the Praetor, so Percy would have to pay special attention to him.

“Who do you think that is?” Percy whispered as he pointed at the boy seated at the tribune, looking intently at the game.

“Maybe he’s one of the heirs to the Emperor,” Annabeth said. “He might be here to watch the games in the Emperor’s stead.”

Percy hummed as they were joined by Leo.

“Bad news, guys,” he said, sliding into the bush they were hiding in. “The barracks are the only place that will cause enough of a commotion to distract everyone without burning anything that might piss a god off.”

“Great.”

“Eh, not so much.” Leo pointed towards his tool belt. The pouches were now tightly sealed, ready to explode. “They seem pretty fire-proof. The only thing strong enough to set them on fire are these.”

Their conversation was interrupted by what seemed like a collective gasp. From the whispers, he managed to catch that the augur had tried to kill the praetor.

He saw as the praetor restrained a blond boy and brought him to the center of the campers. A girl who seemed to be a praetor as well demanded an explanation.

They listened intently as the augur tried to defend himself, only to be shut down and apparently demoted from political charges.

“Have I ever told you how glad I am that Camp Half-Blood doesn’t keep Ancient Greece politics?” He quipped to Annabeth, who shushed him.

“This is it,” she whispered. “If I’m getting this right, the augur still has duties to the gods. He’ll probably visit their temples for council. You follow him; we’ll stir up trouble in the barracks in 30 minutes. We’ll rendezvous near the entrance as soon as possible.”

Percy nodded. Annabeth and Leo began running towards the camp, trying to find a place to hide before the campers went back to sleep.

Percy followed the augur, who walked behind the palanquin carrying the supposed Roman prince.

They led him towards a small hill filled with temples and altars to different gods. Percy cursed under his breath. It would take forever to check every single one until he found one dedicated to Nike.

Deciding quickly, he made to follow the augur to an empty altar, hoping that he said something in his prayer leading him to the correct place.

* * *

Saying he was appalled by the augur’s treatment of the prince, who looked less and less like a prince by the minute, was an understatement. The blond kept hitting the poor boy, who did nothing to defend himself.

It took everything he had to not go and beat the augur up for mistreating someone weaker than him.

Especially after he shouted the word ‘ _Graecus’_. Now, he didn’t know enough Latin to be sure, but it did sound similar enough to “Greek” to raise the alarms.

Percy sighed in relief when a messenger appeared to inform the augur of Leo and Annabeth’s distraction. As soon as he was gone, he had gone in without thinking twice and helped the boy up, giving him some ambrosia for his wounds. He turned around, finally allowing Percy to get a closer look at him.

The boy was petit and very thin, with almost feminine features and big, dark brown eyes. Percy couldn’t help but think that, if he hadn’t been crying and ate more, the boy in front of him could only be described as beautiful.

“Hey.” He smiled, painfully aware he was repeating himself, but wanting to calm down the boy in front of him. He managed to stand up, wincing a little, but with something akin to relief.

“Hey…”

Percy had a little difficulty recalling what happened after that. Guards inspecting the temples, asking the boy for an escape route, being taken under the empty altar and then transported nearly halfway across the state in a couple seconds, panicking over leaving his friends behind enemy lines without a way to tell them not to wait for him.

The boy having a full-blown panic attack.

“O-oh gods,” he kept repeating. “You aren’t… you’re with… I-I swear I don’t know what I did! D-don’t tell the Augur, _please_! I… I think I can bring us back!”

Percy was suddenly aware that his impromptu travelling companion was hyperventilating. He also realized just how what he said could be taken out of context and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, who just flinched.

“It’s… It’s okay,” he managed to say. “Breathe… one, two, one, two…”

He continued until the boy calmed down a little, though he still looked at him as if he was a monster in disguise.

“What’s your name?” he asked. The boy seemed confused for a second.

“Nico,” he said, voice still trembling. “I’m Nico.”

“Hi, Nico. I’m Percy, and I’m not taking you back there,” he said in the most serious tone he could manage. “But I need to get back. My friends and I are Greek demigods, and if they’re found out… I need to be there.”

Nico nodded slowly.

“I… I’m not sure how I did… _that_ ,” he said, looking around. “But I wasn’t lying; I think I can bring us back to Camp Jupiter.”

“Is that what it’s called? Sounds like Space Camp,” he said, hoping a joke would ease the tension. Nico’s shoulders dropped slightly.

“I just need a dark place,” Nico continued. “The less light, the better.”

Without another word, he took him by the hand and led him towards an alleyway, away from the streetlights and the cars.

For some reason, Percy felt slightly scandalized at the action.

“Well, it’s very unusual for dinner to come on its own,” someone said as soon as they entered the alley. “But who are we to complain?”

Two big guys started skulking nearer, holding what looked like oversized baseball bats.

Laistrygonians. Percy cursed and uncapped Riptide, as Nico hid behind him wordlessly.

“Careful, they look feisty,” the other said, licking his lips. He barely had time to react as the other giant swung his club at him, blocking it with his sword. He felt his teeth clatter at the impact. “But what good meal isn’t?”

It was two against one, and Percy was protecting someone with little to no self-defense capabilities. He couldn’t dodge out of the way without exposing Nico, so he was left slashing and blocking, barely managing to give some superficial cuts to the giants’ arms and legs. After they realized his predicament, one of the giants went to block the exit, while the other kept whacking him.

“Percy,” Nico said. “w-what’s your full name?”

“W-what,” Percy said, feeling somewhat lightheaded. “What does it matter?”

“Just answer.” Nico’s tone conveyed nothing but urgency. The giant swung again. Percy managed to drop to the floor, taking Nico down with him.

“Per… Perseus Jackson,” Percy said as he rolled himself and Nico over before standing up again. “But I don’t—”

“Then, Perseus Jackson,” Nico said, his voice taking a commanding tone. “Defeat your enemy, for Victory is with you.”

It was as if a switch turned on inside his brain. Before the giant before him could swing again, Percy did a feint, pretending to go for the Laistrygonian’s stomach before swinging upwards and severing his club hand.

The giants barely had time to react as Percy jumped and beheaded his opponent before moving on to the next and stabbing him in an unarmored spot by his gut.

It was as if his body was on autopilot. With the other giant dead, Percy could maneuver more without worrying about Nico, who was still with his back against the wall. Percy’s attack was relentless, not giving the brute a moment of respite, before his sword found the armor joint between his mid-section and legs, slicing the monster and leaving him for dead.

Percy was breathing heavily. He turned to look at Nico, who didn’t look surprised at the outcome.

“W-what… what did you do?”

“The only thing I can do.” Nico shrugged, not looking at him. “I brought forth Victory.”

“How can you do that?”

“It comes naturally to me,” Nico said, turning towards the shadows. Gone was the scared little boy from before. In his place, was a far more secure teenager that looked every bit like the prince Annabeth mistook him for. “Because the goddess of Victory is my patron, I’m Nike’s envoy, and a prisoner to the Roman Augur.”

And because nothing could really surprise Percy anymore, the only thought roaming through his mind was ‘Of course he is.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love Annabeth dearly. She's like, the ultimate excuse for an exposition dump! I'm guessing that's why Riordan created her so feisty and proud of her knowledge, so he'd have an out to share obscure legends and myths.
> 
> Anyways, if you read HoO at all you may notice some big changes to canon regarding a certain fire imp. Yes, Esperanza Valdez is alive in this fic. Early in the development proccess for this story, I realized I wanted a villain who would be Nico's to defeat, as such, Gaia's plot will not be happening during our dear demigods' lifetime. And that made me think: no Gaia means completely different lives for the seven, not only because she's not interfeering, but because Hera isn't manipulating them towards an emotional state where they are to lay down their lives for Olympus. How the lives of Jason, Frank and the others are changed will be explored later. For now, just enjoy a more emotionally stable Leo.
> 
> Oh, and I guess the Percico interaction is setting up the bases for a romance. Oh Percy, do remember you're taken... for now anyways.
> 
> Please do comment and leave kudos if you liked this. They always brighten my day!


	5. Ara Victoriae: Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, here we are, the last chapter of this first arc. It was quite a ride for me, since this is the first time I write something where romance isn't the story's main focus.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this first arc, and for those that have asked about Bianca... I'd advise you to read the notes at the end of this chapter regarding the next arc *wink*

“Well, this is getting awkward,” Percy said, squirming. Nico felt the Greek boy’s hand getting clammy in his. Whether it was from uneasiness or LA’s natural humidity, he couldn’t tell.

“Oh, don’t worry, I had my cootie shot earlier this month.” Nico’s voice was thick with sarcasm. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feeling he had back at the altar.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Percy mumbled. “It’s just… I’m not used to staying still for so long.”

“Well, you’ll have to take this in stride then… _quietly_.” Nico felt the sudden urge to growl at his kind of savior. “I need to concentrate, and apparently this thing I do isn’t an exact science.”

He expected Percy to retort, but for once, the boy was quiet. Nico thanked the gods and tried to get back that feeling of being one with the shadows he had felt back at the Altar.

_“If this works like I think it does, I should focus on a shadowed place in camp Jupiter.”_

Theoretically, all shadows and darkness were expressions of Erebus on the world of the living. Which meant they were all connected at the source… even the shadows in a dingy alley in Los Angeles were connected to the darkness of the Caldecott Tunnel at the entrance of Camp Jupiter.

Last time, his only thought had been to be away from camp, so he had appeared at a random location, but maybe, if he could direct his thought towards a specific shadow…

It suddenly felt as if someone was reeling in a fishing line that had embedded itself in his gut without him noticing. The air became dry and cold around him as he began rushing forward, his center of gravity changing immediately.

Someone turned him around.

“Nico?” Percy said in a low voice from somewhere above him. He blinked, his eyes focusing once again as he noticed the Greek demigod had caught him when he was about to fall. “You okay, buddy?”

He blinked again, trying to take notice of his surroundings. Behind Percy, the tall, heavy doors of the Praetorian Gate laid wide open. He could hear shouts and marching in the background.

“This… this isn’t the tunnel,” he managed to say. Percy chuckled as he tried to help him stand. As soon as his hands were off him, however, he felt his knees tremble and his legs fail. Percy had his arms around him again before his face became intimate friends with the ground. “I feel like I’ve run the marathon… about six times.”

“Crap.” Percy looked around before maneuvering him into his back. “Just hold on, okay? And no more of that weird teleporting trick for today.”

Too tired to argue or even comment, Nico just linked his arms around Percy’s neck and rested his head on his right shoulder, trying as hard as he could to remain conscious.

* * *

Percy felt he should be less surprised at how little Nico weighted. While not malnourished, the boy was way too skinny for his own good. Still, he had expected him to be at the very least heavier than the shopping bags his mom saddled him with back before Paul came to her life and took over supermarket duty.

“So, where to?” he asked as he walked by the outer wall, trying to evade the guards marching along the area.

Nico weakly pointed to his left.

“The tunnel is that way.” His sounded sleepy, but certain. His finger moved slightly to the right “The fields of Mars are over there, and Temple Hill is behind us to our right…”

He gave a yawn that reminded Percy of a cat. Percy shook his head and tried to find an opening to get to the tunnel.

After ten minutes of platoons passing by, he figured out the pattern and managed to sneak past their patrolling, skulking towards the bridge near the tunnel, under which Leo and Annabeth were supposedly waiting.

“Halt!” He heard a female voice yell. Percy froze in place behind a bush, a half-asleep Nico trying to find a comfortable spot in his shoulder, rustling the leaves without noticing.

“Ma’am,” another voice, this one male, responded. “We have found no trace of the ones responsible for the fire… aside from this dust.”

A pause. The woman must have been looking at the evidence.

“I was right, then.” She sounded disappointed. “Any clues about the whereabouts of the _Internuntius Victoriae_ , then?”

“None, ma’am.” Another pause, this one slightly longer. Percy was hyperaware of Nico beginning to mumble as he fell into a deeper sleep. “Your orders?”

“Send reinforcements to join Jason at the Caldecott Tunnel. If we’re lucky, we might catch them before they leave.”

“‘Them,’ ma’am?”

“I’m afraid Octavian was right. It was the Greeks who did this.” Steps sounded, thankfully moving away from the bush. Nico started to nuzzle his neck in his sleep, breathing into his ear. He bit his lips to prevent himself from yelping. “After you’re done, send a notice for a senate meeting tomorrow. We need—”

Whatever they needed, the two of them were now too far away for Percy to hear. Sighing in relief, he stood up and ran towards the bridge, prepared to take Annabeth and Leo and make a run for it.

The tunnel only had one guard right now, but they had little time.

* * *

His friends were, thankfully, at the rendezvous point. They saw him approach from far away, and began moving briskly towards the tunnel.

“Do you have any idea how worried we were?” Annabeth said, not turning to look at him from the front of their makeshift line. “You took way too long. Did you find the symbol?”

“Uh… I think so?”

“What do you mean you think so?” Leo said. He was looking around, trying to see whether any Roman campers were nearby. “Winged lady, laurel wreath, looks like she will sue if you don’t declare her dog the show’s best, not many gods have that look.”

“I mean, I think I have the symbol, but…” Percy realized neither of them were looking at him, convinced the lump in his back was the statue and not a living, breathing human being. “Forget it, I’ll explain later, but we need to leave now. I heard the praetor; she’s sending reinforcements to the tunnel.”

“Great,” Annabeth muttered, moving faster. Leo and Percy sped up to keep her pace. “Any ideas how many guards are there right now?”

“Just the one.” Percy said. He saw Annabeth move her head, probably in a nod, before they reached the tunnel. “All I know is that it’s a guy named Jason.”

“He’s a Praetor,” Nico mumbled at his back. Annabeth and Leo froze, finally paying attention to what, or rather whom he was carrying. “I don’t know if he’s still blessed, but he’s dangerous either way.”

“Percy, did you kidnap the Emperor’s heir apparent?” Annabeth’s voice was cold as ice. Leo, wisely, decided to move behind her.

“…No?” It wasn’t a lie. Nico was not the Emperor’s heir, nor was he being kidnapped.

 ‘Whisked away’ or ‘emancipated’ might have been more accurate.

“Percy…”

“I didn’t!”

“He did not,” Nico confirmed, yawning. “It’s a long story, I can’t really walk right now, and the Legion is about to block your only escape route. I’d run away now and demand explanations later.”

Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but just glared and turned away, running towards the tunnel once more.

“I so smell a couch in your future.” Leo snickered as he moved past him. Percy had half a mind to choke him.

“Evade Jason at all costs,” Nico said. He seemed slightly more awake now. “Even without a blessing, he’s one of the most powerful demigods I have ever met.”

“Okay.” Percy frowned, slightly bothered by his lack of faith. “Though it’s a little rude to assume, you know? You don’t know how strong _we_ are.”

Nico said nothing. Percy just gave a deep breath before entering the tunnel.

* * *

Camp Jupiter was a small, secluded place protected by natural barriers such as mountains and the Little Tiber, which made monster incursions downright suicide for the monsters. Not only was it well defended, it also housed the small city of New Rome, and with it, the god Terminus, who protected Rome’s boundary from its enemies.

Taking all of that into account, it was the only safe place for a demigod who couldn’t defend himself. A place where that demigod could be protected from outside threats, leaving only the monsters inside to torment him.

Octavian had instilled a fear of leaving in him after a month at camp. It had been easy, all things considered. All he had to do was let him escape once and pursue him at a leisurely pace, herding him right to the middle of a group of monsters eager for an easy meal and leaving him alone until he begged to be taken back.

Now, it was the first time he was leaving Camp without the Legion to protect him. Sure, he technically wasn’t leaving alone, but three demigods hardly compared to a force of a hundred disciplined soldiers.

It was exhilarating.

“So,” the girl of the group whispered, looking ahead to try and find Jason before he found them. “We’re kidnapping someone we know nothing about, we failed our mission, and we have already thrown the whole ‘inconspicuous’ thing down the drain.”

“You’re going somewhere, I’m sure.” The other boy touched Annabeth’s shoulder as he dimmed the flame on his fingers (neat trick). “Probably tearing Kelp Head over there a new one… but right now we kiinda need to stay hidden.”

“That is _not_ where I’m going.” The girl turned and looked at him. “I think we deserve to know who he is, at least.”

Nico blinked, before nodding. He would be the same. Hades, if anything, _he_ should be the one demanding to know who they are. His experiences with mysterious strangers offering to take him away from everything he knew was not the best.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but first, I’d like to know, are you really Greek demigods?”

He had to know. He had to make sure he truly wasn’t as alone as he thought he was.

“We are,” Percy answered, smiling slightly. “I’m a son of Poseidon, Annabeth over there is a daughter of Athena, and Leo is a son of Hephaestus.”

Annabeth looked about ready to throttle Percy, but Nico just nodded at them.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, because his mother didn’t raise an oaf, even if he didn’t really remember her. “My name is—”

“NICO!” Someone shouted. Steps echoed through the tunnel, making it difficult to discern whether they came from behind them or not.

He got his answer as Jason Grace stopped a few steps from them. He looked at the three demigods before his eyes landed on him. Nico idly wondered how things might look to Jason; three unknown demigods, carrying around an exhausted, obviously injured Nico, his robes in tatters.

Jason flipped his coin, drawing Ivlivs in spear form and pointing it at them.

“Whoa, buddy!” Leo raised his arms trying to calm him down. “No need to get violent.”

“Let. Him. Go.” He gritted his teeth, lance pointed exclusively at Percy. Annabeth stood between them, drawing a bronze knife. “I’ll let you through, no questions asked, but only if you let him go.”

“Do the math, dude,” Leo said, pulling out a hammer from his tool belt. “There’s three of us, and one of you.”

“I have faced worse odds.” Jason seemed content to keep the stalemate. “I just need to hold you until reinforcements come. Now, return the _Internuntius Victoriae_ at once, or face the consequences.”

“No,” Percy said. He let Nico down gently and had Leo hold him steady as he transformed his pen back into a sword. “He’s coming with us.”

“After what you did to him?” Jason looked incredulous as he pointed at his wounds. “You’re lucky I’m willing to let you go unharmed! Just… leave. He belongs with us Romans.”

“I do not,” Nico said, tired of being spoken of as if he was an object. Jason looked at him. “It wasn’t them who hurt me, Praetor. The fault lies solely on the Romans.”

“Nico, you—”

“You more than anyone, know who I really am.” Nico stared at him. Jason faltered. Good. He deserved it after shunning him for his heritage. “I am Greek, Praetor, and I’m leaving with them.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annabeth and Leo whispering to each other. Percy remained quiet, observing him.

“And what do I tell the Legion, that our Envoy just left us?” Jason voice dripped with sarcasm. “There are Greek legacies here, who your godly parent is does not matter. Whoever did this to you, they’ll be punished.”

Nico heard the steps coming. Jason’s reinforcements were near. Annabeth tried to sneak up on Jason with her knife. Nico raised his hand, stopping her.

“Tell them that you didn’t see me leave. Buy us time.” He took in Jason’s bewildered expression for a moment. He knew what to do. “Please, Jason.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Jason said, but his tone wavered. It was the first time since his promotion he had used his name.

“The Praetor can’t let the Envoy get away,” Nico confirmed. “But Jason can let a friend escape to find his place.”

He could pick out voices now. The legion was getting closer.

“Please, if you ever were truthful about wanting to be my friend just… let me leave.”

Jason bit his lip for a second. He looked quickly between Nico, the Greeks and the tunnel. He sighed, turning his weapon back into a coin, stepping aside.

“The Legion will be here any second,” was all he said as he moved further into the tunnel.

They didn’t have to be told twice. Percy picked him up again and ran, his friends not far behind him. He turned back one last time, finding Jason staring at him.

Despite not saying anything, his eyes seemed to convey a message only for Nico.

_“I had hoped you’d find your place with us.”_

* * *

They stopped by a car that faintly smelled of burnt plastic by the other end of the tunnel. Leo opened the trunk and pulled out a couple of bags.

“This one’s yours,” he said, offering one to Annabeth. The tone he said it implied some kind of underlying meaning Nico didn’t understand.

After what felt like an eternity, Annabeth rolled her eyes and snatched the bag, fishing out a cellphone.

“Just… make sure no monsters attack while I call my dad, okay?”

“Sure thing, Egghead.” Leo hid under the car, probably escaping any sort of retaliation from Annabeth. “Percy, you be the lookout, I’ll see if I can salvage anything down here.”

Percy nodded and set him down on the car seat. Nico felt like he was about to collapse from tiredness, but Percy just sat beside him and gave him an uneasy smile.

“So… Greek, huh?” He said, starting the interrogation. “I mean, I assumed when that man called you ‘Graecus,’ but…”

“Yes… or at least, I _assume_ I’m Greek.” He brought his hands to his lap, playing with them. “All I know is that my blessing comes from Nike, not Victoria. My powers are stronger when I call on her Greek form.”

“And what are those powers?” Annabeth asked, putting her phone back in her back. “Dad will meet us about a mile from here. We should get going before they send scouts to this end of the tunnel.”

“Jason will keep them from doing it for a while, but you’re right,” Nico said. Percy made to carry him again, but he moved away and stood up. “I’m okay now. I can at least walk a mile.”

“Which frees you up to carry these,” Leo said, holding a few tubes and devices in Percy’s direction that Nico didn’t really understand. “We can sell these in San Fran to get some change for transport.”

“Yeah, because a group of teenagers selling loose auto parts is not suspicious at all.” Annabeth rolled her eyes before focusing again on Nico. “Anyways, about your blessing…?”

“It’s a little complicated to explain,” Nico said, waiting until his three companions were ready and following them. “I was the center of the Ara Victoriae because of Nike’s blessing. It makes it so I can bless people to make them victorious.”

“Like, winning a game? Beating someone in a fight? Winning the lottery?”

“The first two.” Nico yawned. He waved off Percy, who looked concerned. “I can influence who wins confrontations of any kind, but there are some rules and restrictions.

“First of all, My blessing only works if the Victory depends on you. Things like elections or lotteries rely on voters or luck, so I can’t sway those either way.” Leo looked disappointed. Nico smirked at that. “For that same reason, it doesn’t work on love, there’s a third party with their own feelings and say in whether or not they’re won over. Moreover, that’s Cupid and Aphrodite’s thing, not Nike’s.”

“That’s to be expected, I guess.” Annabeth hummed as she stroked her chin. “Still, the applications of such a blessing are amazing, let alone the implications.”

“There’s one last thing, The blessing is not absolute. It can be bypassed if your opponent is far above your level in skill, experience or strength.” Nico shrugged. “I can only make it so the confrontation is you at your best against your opponent at whatever level they’re in. Victory is earned, not given as a gift.”

“It still means an advantage over whoever you’re up against.” Annabeth noted. “Does it work against anyone?”

“Last year, I blessed Jason, and he beat the Titan Krios when the Legion stormed Mount Othrys. He destroyed Saturn’s throne, and ended up becoming Praetor for it.”

“Huh, Hermes said Othrys collapsed on its own when we defeated Kronos,” Percy said. “I guess he did that just so we stayed apart.”

"Were you a camper? What is life like for a Roman?" Annabeth asked.

For the next half-hour or so, Nico answered questions about Camp Jupiter, all the while getting loose comments on what the Greek Camp was like. Each answer drained him a little bit more, as he felt the weight of whatever he did to move to LA and back taking its toll on his energy levels.

The honking of a car drew their attention. Annabeth ran up to the window and waved. Without a word, Percy, Leo and him got in the back seat, while Annabeth talked with her father, telling him a heavily edited version of their incursion into Camp Jupiter.

“A Military styled camp that works and has the same hierarchy as that of the Roman Empire, and so close to home… that’s just fascinating,” he said, before going on a lecture about Roman war tactics and defenses.

“Should I tell him there’s also a Roman city where demigods can retire?” He muttered to Percy, whose eyes widened.

“They retire?” He said in wonder, looking at Annabeth for a second before shaking his head. “Better not to. He’s already nerdgasming enough as it is.”

“Nerdgasming?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Nico nodded, already on the verge of unconsciousness.

“You know, I just realized something,” Nico murmured, his eyes already closing.

“What is it?” Percy said, smiling at him.

“I’m pretty sure we ruined the Feast of Fortuna.”

 

_**Ara Victoriae: End** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we end Arc I of this fic. There were times I thought this wasn't a good idea, but comments and self-indulgency won in the end! Before we move on to Arc II, there are a few things I'd like to share:
> 
>  **-The Arc Title:** Sometimes, you have loose ideas that end up coming together perfectly. For me, "Nico being in Roman Camp" and "Nico being blessed by Nike" were 2 separate AUs I wanted to write, but I hit roadblocks in both. Roman Nico lacked pathos, I knew where to take the conflict, but the character motivation was dull. Nike Blessed Nico lacked plot, there was no conflict since it was a self-indulgent idea to make Nico powerful and important to the narrative. It wasn't until I came across the Ara Victoriae that I decided to merge both AUs into Ours is the Victory. As Annabeth helpfully exposited for me last chapter, the Ara Victoriae is a Roman altar that had a Greek statue as its centerpiece. The fact that the Altar was important to the cult of the Roman gods, and that the Greek statue was stolen by Octavian's namesake, made it perfect to introduce a good conflict to start with and a reason for Nico to start off weak despite having a broken ability. For that reason, it was the title of the first arc.
> 
>  **-The Next Arc:** Next Arc will be far more episodic, more akin to a road trip, as it will be about Percy and co. going back to Camp Half-Blood with Nico in tow. My plan is to strengthen the bonds between these four as they fight their way though mythological threats. Expect a bit of character exploration, especially with these versions of Nico and Leo, who had led very different lives from their canon counterparts. Also, since many comments are wondering about Bianca... next arc will have Nico finding out what happened to his sister, and of course, who his godly parent is. With that in mind, I decided to call this next Arc, _Journey to the East_.
> 
> See you guys next chapter, then! As always, comments and kudos make my day and are a huge boost to morale. They let me know I'm not writing this story only for myself and they are always appreciated.


	6. Journey to the East: Depending on the Unkindness of Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we start a new arc. Lots of new plot points and the start of a new journey await! Because this arc's name is a mangling of a classic, Chapter titles will also be mangled sayings, quotes and idioms! It's mostly an stylistic choice, though, so don't look too deeply into it.
> 
> In other news, BlueSkyPortrait made this [wonderful fanart](http://blueskyportrait.tumblr.com/post/183652375041/title-art-for-doevademe-percico-fanfic-ours-is) for this fic. Please check it out!
> 
> And without further ado, on with the chapter!

“You ready?” Annabeth Chase asked him, leaning on the doorframe. She was tapping her foot in an impatient manner, though Nico knew it wasn’t directed at him. At least, not entirely.

“Yeah.” Nico zipped his new duffel bag closed, filled with some clothes and new basic hygiene items he hadn’t been able to carry from New Rome for obvious reasons. “Thank you for these, by the way.”

“They are from Goodwill, so probably not the materials you’re used to,” she said unapologetically. Nico guessed she saw him as a pampered kid who was trying to rebel or some such. “Some of them might not fit, either.”

“As long as it isn’t a toga, I’m happy.” Nico walked past her and gave a polite greeting to Annabeth’s stepmother, who was carrying some documents to the studio.

Nico was not stupid. He knew Annabeth Chase did not like or trust him. In fact, she had heard her whisper arguing with her boyfriend about him faking being the symbol of the altar of Victoria as a ploy to get out of Roman camp.

On top of that, they had to accommodate three demigods at her house, which only made the monster threat to her family bigger when Nico had fallen asleep for nearly eighteen hours after their escape.

He tried not to let it get to him, after all, he was very much derided and ignored before becoming Victoria’s Envoy, so it was a bit like going back to before, and if Annabeth represented all those older kids in the hotel then…

“Hey Nico!” Percy greeted from the kitchen counter, his smiling face completely messed up by breadcrumbs and jelly. “Packed up already?”

Then Percy Jackson reminded him of Bianca. Always ready to defend him and stand by him.

“Just finished.” Nico pointed to the bag, before grabbing a napkin and wiping Percy’s face. “Do you always eat like a pig?”

Percy blinked.

“Uh… no… I uh, may have put too much blueberry jelly this time,” Percy mumbled as he let Nico clean him.

Annabeth cleared her throat behind them, making Percy jump. He hurriedly took the napkin away from Nico, finishing cleaning up by himself.

Honestly, they were all such children.

“Is Leo back yet?” He asked Annabeth. He already was on her bad side; the last thing he needed was to give her more reasons to cement her opinion of him.

Like making her believe he was trying to drive a wedge in her relationship.

“Dad called, they are on their way back,” she said as she grabbed one of the toasts from the plate and put smoked salmon spread on it. “He said, and I quote, ‘Leo may have found true love,’ so expect some gaudy, easy to mod car.”

Percy frowned slightly, but said nothing. Ever since he woke up, Annabeth had been using words like ‘gaudy’ and ‘garish’ to describe anything from the duffel bag her stepmother gave him to the fried chicken dinner they had had the night before, as if they would make him run back to the Romans. From Percy’s looks, he could guess Annabeth did not normally talk like that.

“I don’t know enough about cars to know what counts as gaudy or not,” he said carefully. “I just care about it being big enough to fit the four of us and take us to your camp.”

Annabeth just pressed her lips in a thin line and nodded, going into her room.

Nico sighed, grabbing a toast of his own and pointedly ignoring Percy apologizing for his girlfriend’s attitude.

The worst part was that this was still miles better than what he could expect back in New Rome.

* * *

The Subaru SVX was a hidden gem of the 90s. Undersold due to an economic hard time in its home country, this car was derided for trying too many new things that weren’t mainstream at the time, and fell into obscurity after it flopped in sales.

If Nico knew any of this, it was because Leo wouldn’t shut up about the damn thing as he showed off every feature to the three of them. Behind him, Dr. Chase just smiled indulgingly, probably because the night before, he had subjected them to a similar lecture about a German World War 1 plane model.

“And that idiot at the car sale let me get it for just $2500,” Leo continued, caressing the hood. “Mom will freak out when I tell her I got one of these beauties.”

“Wait, how much did you sell the car parts for?” Annabeth asked, now looking at her father suspiciously.

“Y-you don’t understand, it was a steal! I needed it. _We_ needed it! I—” Leo cowered as the daughter of Athena turned her gaze on him. “I promised your dad I would help him build an exact replica of the Fokker Dr-1 if he paid the extra five hundred.”

“Not right now, of course,” Dr. Chase said quickly. “After all, I still need a few materials, but once I do, can you imagine what Hephaestus engineering can do to truly bring that model back to life? I—”

“Dad,” Annabeth said, rubbing her temples with her right hand. “What you do with your money is your business… and Lana’s, I think.”

Dr. Chase paled at the mention of his wife.

“Plus, we kind of already had a lecture on the good old baron’s plane yesterday so…” Percy said as he went past him and into the backseat. “Not shotgun!”

Annabeth rolled her eyes before giving her father a quick hug, promising to call him once they made it to camp and sitting with Percy in the back.

Leo shrugged before smiling at him.

“Looks like it’s just us singles at the front,” he said, in what Nico had quickly classified as his ‘trying to make you like me’ tone. “Two guys looking for adventure and babes, featuring the boring couple in the back.”

“Let’s start with Greek camp and see where it goes from there,” Nico said, smirking. “Thanks for everything, Dr. Chase,” he said quickly as he entered the car.

“Just be careful, okay?” He called.

Leo started the car and put on sunglasses as Annabeth promised her father. He grinned at Dr. Chase.

“Relax, I’ll follow every regulation so perfectly, cops won’t ever stop me to realize I only have a learner’s permit.”

Apparently, Leo was fond of unnerving people before leaving, because he just saluted with his hand and drove off into San Francisco’s busy streets.

* * *

It took about an hour to get out from the city and into the highway. Behind them, Percy and Annabeth had already fallen asleep, while Nico played with the radio stations to try to remain awake himself.

“So,” Leo said, relaxing his grip on the wheel. “You still haven’t told us anything about yourself, man.”

“You still haven’t told me where the Greek camp is,” Nico said back, defensive. “I only know it’s East of here. I don’t even know the _name_.”

“We’re in the directory.” Leo chuckled as he changed line to overtake a car. “If you end up betraying us, you won’t rat us out.”

He didn’t sound sorry about phrasing it that way. That was something he had noticed about Leo. No tact, and quite unapologetic about it. His honesty was actually a bit refreshing compared to Percy’s eagerness to please and Annabeth’s barely there attempt to hide her opinions on him.

“Yeah well, trust is a two-way street,” Nico said. “I won’t go around sharing stuff about me to people who see me as a traitor.”

“Hey now, nobody thinks you’re a traitor.” Leo’s eyes widened. “I mean, maybe the Romans do now that you left, but we… we’re just unsure, that’s all.”

Nico narrowed his eyes, trying to guess what game Leo was playing at. Was he trying to interrogate him since he was the most easy-going? Was he offering to give away his camp’s location eventually in exchange for a sign of trust?

Whatever his strategy, Nico would only unravel it in one way.

“I barely remember who I was before Camp Jupiter,” he said lowly. “I know that doesn’t really make me more trustworthy, but it’s the truth.”

“You’ve been there all your life, then?”

“I was only there three years.” Nico lifted his legs into the seat, hugging them. “But who I was before that is mostly a blank.”

“Mostly?”

“I remember my mother’s face, as well as a sister.” Behind him, he could hear Annabeth’s breathing had changed its rhythm. “I remember that I have Nike’s blessing, but aside from that, nothing.”

“Sounds really though.” Leo smiled sympathetically at him. “So you just woke up one day in New Rome and—”

“New York, actually,” he said. It wasn’t a lie, he vaguely remembered a lawyer taking him and Bianca from a subterranean stairway near Central Park (or was it _in_ Central park?) before they were taken to Vegas. “I wandered around before the Augur found me.”

“New York? Then you were really close to—” Annabeth yawned loudly and hit Leo’s chair, making him huff. “Olympus,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, I know where Olympus is,” Nico said carefully. “The Legion doesn’t go there, though, too far east.”

Very close to Greek Camp, too.

If this alliance went somewhere after this was all over, he would have to teach Annabeth a thing or two about subtlety.

* * *

They decided to make a stop by an off-brand sandwich place outside of Reno. Nico stood quietly as the other three pooled their resources to see what they could afford.

“So that’s enough for… a meatball sub and a Pepsi.” Annabeth grimaced. “What are the chances that this place is a monster façade we can bust for food?”

“Unless this place is run by zombies uninterested in demigods,” Percy said, pointing at the dead-eyed teenager at the register. “None.”

They all sighed.

“Didn’t you guys have some funds or rations for this quest?” Nico asked. After all, making sure demigods didn’t die of hunger during quests seemed so obvious it was mandatory in the Legion.

“We had, but that car was _such_ a priority,” Annabeth said sarcastically. Leo glared at her.

“Don’t bring Helena into this.”

“You named… never mind,” Annabeth said. “Unless you can make _Helena_ give us something to eat, we’ll have to rely on charity from here to Camp.”

Nico watched them argue for a couple of minutes, trying to find some solution. His eyes wandered to a couple of kids playing in a nearby park.

“Um, I may have an idea,” he said in a shy tone. Immediately, Percy turned to him and gave him the usual smile that he was sure was part of why Annabeth hated him.

“Well, we’re hungry and pretty much open to anything.”

Annabeth and Leo looked at him. He looked down, trying to accentuate a sense of sheepishness.

“Good, because it depends on how far you stretch the concept of fair play.”

* * *

‘Like taking candy from a baby,’ an idiom meaning something is incredibly easy. Of course, a baby can't defend itself, much less its valuables, when faced with an adult.

“Oh, come on!” The burly teen grumbled as he reached for his pocket and pulled a five-dollar bill. “Okay, next one takes all.”

In the same vein, swindling suburbia kids who thought highly of themselves for playing basketball was ridiculously easy when you can bless someone who seemed scrawny but actually had a good few years working with heavy machinery, like Leo Valdez.

Nico almost felt bad for basically cheating them out of their money, but in the end, the growling of his stomach won out.

“Dude, face it, you got your ass handed to you,” one of his friends tried to stop him, only to be glared at.

“So, what do you say? I still have a twenty.”

Leo looked back at them. Annabeth shrugged, while Percy just gave him thumbs up. Nico rolled his eyes, but nodded.

The blessing still hadn’t worn off.

Leo grinned and passed the ball to the guy.

* * *

Fifty dollars later (deducting four sandwiches and sodas) they were back on the road, looking for a quiet place to set camp.

“Man that was awesome,” Leo said. “It was like, I knew how to translate all those stupid equations to make good shots into real life, you know?”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Percy was looking for a place they could sleep on. “Too bad you didn’t get enough for a motel.”

“He was just sixteen,” Annabeth said. “It was actually quite surprising to find someone with so much pocket change.”

“And so gullible, too.” Leo snickered. “Now I know why the Stolls do this sort of things all the time! When this is over, I’m thinking of taking you to Vegas. What do you say, Neeks?”

Nico stiffened at the mention of Vegas. He thought back to Octavian for a moment, trying to think about how he would take advantage of this situation.

“Neeks?” He asked, unimpressed. Leo shrugged. “That won’t work. Nike’s blessing works on skill, not random numbers.”

“Won’t know until you try.”

“Victory is not Luck,” Nico said dryly, frowning. “I know what I can and can’t do.”

“Well, sorry,” Leo said, now grimacing. “I was just joking around.”

They continued in silence for a few minutes until Annabeth spotted an empty lot. Wordlessly, Nico got out to help unload the tents before the others even had a chance to unbuckle their belts.

He barely got to the back of the car efore he heard a door open and close.

“Hey, Nico.” Percy approached him, looking nervous. “Don’t take what Leo says too seriously, he’s just—”

“It’s not just Leo,” Nico said, resting his hands on Helena’s trunk. Leo and Annabeth were still on the car, probably listening in. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that this is crazy.” Nico gritted his teeth. He was surprised to find his frustration was not completely made-up. “I ran away to find a better place, to find a home, yet I just keep finding people who hate me, want to use me, or both!”

“I don’t hate you _or_ want to use you, Nico.” Percy said as gently as he could.

“You’re the reason I accepted this crazy offer, Percy.” Nico ran a hand through his hair as he tried to concentrate. “But the truth of the matter is… that don’t like being here, but I can’t leave. I’m as much a prisoner here as I was in New Rome.”

_Darkness connects all. In a moonless night, such as this one… the shadows are weaker, not as defined… but more prevalent._

Percy placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

“I don’t know how to fight,” he continued, leaning into Percy, but keeping his hand on the car, trying to pull on its shadow as well as his and Percy’s. “I don’t even know if I’ll find a place in the Greek Camp. I just wanted… to not be with the Augur anymore.”

The fact that he wasn’t lying kept startling him, but he shook his head, hoping to go back to that night’s mind state.

_Just keep thinking of the shadows. They are near that place, because they are everywhere…_

“Hey, you just met us,” Percy argued. “Of course we’re all going to clash and disagree, but once we get to know each other better…”

“You don’t know what will happen after!” Nico exploded. Percy made an attempt to take his hand off of him. Nico panicked and grabbed it. “You might end up hating me too, just like your girlfriend!”

The car door opened, probably Annabeth taking her queue to come out and apologize or make the situation worse.

Realizing he had little time, Nico decided to just go ahead and begin pulling them into the shadows.

“I wish I could just leave!” He shouted. The now increasingly familiar feeling of free falling took over again as he felt more and more light-headed.

Before passing out, he faintly noticed the neon signing in the distance.

He had done it.

They were on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Probably no more than a couple of miles away from the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

The place where he had left Bianca.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, I feel it's not focused enough, however, it basically brings the problems these four will be dealing with this arc. They are many, as such, this arc will be about twice as long as the last one. However, this also makes the chapter jump from plot thread to plot thread like it's hopscotch.
> 
> I'm bringing Vegas early on mostly for geographical reasons (there's no reason to go through Vegas in a San Francisco-New York trip), but also to show something about Nico: He's twisted from his time with Octavian, and sees people as tools to achieve his goals. Right now, his goal is to reunite with Bianca, but a master manipulator he is not. Right now, he's just winging it. He saw a chance to excuse a trip to Las Vegas and he took it.
> 
> This arc is not about getting to Camp Half-Blood, not really, it's about deprogramming Nico from his time with Octavian. He needs to start empathizing with others, and at the same time, Percy and co. need to see the real Nico and build trust with each other. This is an arc about making friends and forging bonds of trust, and about finding a home in people rather than places. In other words, this is your usual roadtrip plot.


	7. JttE: Lady Luck Giggles Upon Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, this is so late! Sorry about that, first I wanted to plan the whole roadtrip before writing this chapter, but then, I had some job-related pains to attend to. Well, lesson learned, and I'll probably never have to deal with this problem again.
> 
> But enough about my real life issues. Nico and co. are in Vegas, Operation: Get Bianca from Lotus is a go! On to the chapter.

Unlike with the previous Creeportation, as he had started calling them, he had been somewhat prepared and caught Nico just before he collapsed. The boy in question seemed to be sleeping peacefully, no hint of his previous distress.

“What in Hades was that?” Annabeth said, slamming Helena’s door closed. “We just… just…”

“Got pulled into another dimension for like a second!” Leo said, excited. “ _And_ we landed in Vegas! This kid’s amazing!”

“I have never seen a child of Nike do that!” Annabeth started pacing. “Actually, scratch that, I’ve never seen _anyone_ do that. Just _what_ is he?”

“He’s a demigod, like us,” Percy said, glaring. “We all do weird things, you can’t blame what people do when they’re stressed or scared.”

Annabeth stared at him for a second before narrowing her eyes.

“You _knew_ he could do this, and you didn’t tell us,” she accused him. Percy’s silence seemed to be a good enough response for her. “Why?”

“It seemed… private,” Percy said sheepishly. “Besides, that would only make you more suspicious of him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nico’s right, you have something against him.” Percy frowned. “I don’t know why, but you do, and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“By not telling me, you already made it worse, Seaweed Brain!” Annabeth was almost shouting now. “Before I didn’t know if I could trust him in a fight, now I can’t even trust him to not teleport behind me and stab me in the back!”

“You really think—”

“Hey,” Leo said loudly enough to speak over both of them, putting his arms around their shoulders. “I really don’t want to ruin this beautiful bonding moment, but we’re kind of in the middle of the street, just a couple miles or so from the best casinos, and I have a plan to get some more funds for our trip home.”

Percy and Annabeth glared at each other for what felt like an hour. She was the first to look away, huffing and opening the front car door, entering and slamming it closed again. Leo groaned.

“Helena is not made for that kind of abuse!” Leo complained. “You take care of Sleeping Beauty over there; try to get him awake before we stop at the first casino.”

Wordlessly, Percy helped Nico into the backseat, using the seatbelts to secure him as he rested his head in his lap.

He wasn’t completely sure he wanted to understand Annabeth, or her reasons for hating Nico.

* * *

A couple dozen people cheered as Percy defeated yet another burly man about twice his age and three times his size at arm wrestling.

Behind him, Nico struggled to stay awake while leaning on Leo, while Annabeth was sitting at the opposite end of the room, a disapproving frown on her face.

“And the champion remains undefeated!” the emcee shouted as people looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out if he was cheating somehow. “Anyone else wants to try?”

The crowd went quiet. Leo made to raise his arm, but Nico just went and pushed it down.

“Well, if no one wants to try, I guess the thousand dollars cash prize is going to dear old Percy here…” the emcee continued goading the audience for a minute or so, before smiling. “Then our champion deserves a round of applause!”

The crowd did so, some much louder than the rest, making the audience seem much bigger than it actually was.

A girl wearing the casino uniform led Percy and his friends down to the lobby towards guest services.

“Okay, I’ll just need an I.D. to confirm your age, and your keycard as proof you’re staying with us.” The girl said, smiling.

“My what?” Percy said, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leo frown.

“The competition is meant only for guests staying at the hotel,” the girl’s smile faltered a little. “It was in the flyer.”

He hear a low slapping sound as Leo hit his forehead.

“Uh… I’m sorry, I—”

“He left his keycard in the room,” A woman said. She was wearing a long white cocktail dress and had a diamond tiara on top of her jet black hair. She smiled at Percy as she handed a card with his full name on it. “He’s very lucky I picked it up.”

The girl perked up immediately upon seeing the newcomer.

“Oh, Miss T, you know this young man?” she said as she checked the card and started counting hundred-dollar bills.

“Perseus is a… distant cousin of mine,” Miss T laughed, sending Percy right into fight or flight mode. Only gods and monsters used his full name. Annabeth and Leo seemed to catch on too, both reaching for their weapons, while Nico still seemed barely aware of the world around him. “It’s his second time in Vegas, just now he can actually bet.”

“Oh, then welcome to the real Vegas, Perseus.” She handed him the money. Percy took it gingerly with his left hand, his right still gripping Riptide in his ball pen form. “Don’t spend it all in one place.”

“I won’t, thank you.” He gave the concierge a tight smile and turned around, trying to get out as fast as he could.

However, before he could take even a single step, Miss T had already taken a hold of Nico. She clicked her tongue with disapproval. Percy tensed even further.

“Poor Nico is dead tired,” she cooed, also grabbing Annabeth’s hand. “Come on, you guys; let’s tuck him in before going back to the slot machines.”

Without any choice, Percy and Leo followed Miss T into an elevator, which closed behind them after she pressed the button for the top floor.

“Who are you?” Annabeth asked trying to get her hand away from the woman.

“Why I’m Miss T, of course,” the woman said with a small giggle. “And Las Vegas is kind of my domain.”

Nico looked at her for a few seconds before looking down.

“Sorry we ruined your day,” Nico said respectfully. “You must be pretty mad at us.” Leo looked at him in confusion, but Miss T only laughed again.

“Not right now, but if I were feeling a little more Roman, I would have probably made one of those Big Burly Guys break Perseus’ right arm… ‘By chance,’ of course.”

She giggled again, as if her choice of words were the funniest thing ever.

“Um, Nico, do you know her?” Percy asked, trying to ignore Annabeth’s pointed ‘I told you so’ look.

“I never met her before,” Nico said, yawning. “But I’ve seen her nearly every day on Temple Hill.”

“You have quite the need for dramatics, don’t you?” Miss T squeezed his shoulder a little, making him wince. “Just come out and say it, boy.”

Nico bit his lip, but nodded.

“You’re looking at Lady Luck herself: Fortuna, or rather, Tyche.”

The elevator dinged open. Miss T stepped out, still dragging Nico and Annabeth along, maneuvering them to swipe a card on the door directly in front of her, leading them into a huge penthouse suite.

“Perfect timing,” she sing-sang. “What a stroke of luck.” She laughed at her own joke.

“Um, Lady Tyche? My arm…” Annabeth said. The goddess looked confused for a moment before realizing what she meant and let her go.

“Sorry, Annabeth, forgot you were there,” she laughed and helped Nico into a King-size bed. “Now young man, I’m sure you know that Nike and I have a deal about messing in each other’s domains.”

“I wasn’t aware,” Nico said. If he was lying, Percy couldn’t tell.

“Yeah, she doesn’t like when her little competitions are 'spoiled' by strokes of luck, so why should I allow her into the realm of chance?”

“We broke that deal when we used Nico’s blessing to win bets, didn’t we?” Annabeth guessed. Tyche nodded.

“Bets have an element of chance by their very nature,” she confirmed. “Raw skill can overcome it, of course, but when that skill is enhanced by the divine…”

“Then Nike is messing with your stuff,” Leo finished for her. “And I guess we're in deep trouble with you”

“Oh, it's not that bad,” Tyche took her purse and pulled out some very convincing fake I.D.s “Bring balance to me, and I’ll overlook the transgression.”

“What?”

“She means you need to bet the money,” Nico explained. Leo looked horrified. “Win or lose, once you have betted a thousand dollars on games of chance, she’ll consider the books balanced.”

“One thousand fifty dollars,” Tyche corrected. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten the money you swindled Sebastian out of in that basketball game.”

“Oh, come on!” Leo shouted, Annabeth pushing him slightly to try to remind him with whom he was speaking.

“Now, it’s just fair,” Tyche said, snapping her fingers and turning her dress red. “And you might come out of this with even more money than you entered. Everybody wins!”

“Or we might end in the red…”

“That’s the thrill of it, isn’t it?” She made a move with her hand and produced a small vial from thin air. “This will give you some energy Nico, drink it and stay here. I don’t want you tempting these guys to cheat Luck again!”

Tyche then ushered them out of the room and into the elevator, pressing the button to the Casino floor.

“I’ll join you in a second, I need something from my other purse.” She waved as the door closed, finally leaving them alone.

“So… what do we do?” Leo asked once the doors closed.

“Like it or not, she has Nico, so we need to do as she says,” Annabeth said. “The first casino we step in is the one where the Goddess of Luck happens to be… really, what are the odds?”

“I think, that’s the point,” Percy sighed. “ _She_ is the odds.”

* * *

Tyche returned to the room not even a minute after she had led the others out. She looked at Nico closely, her smile still in place.

“Well, drink up,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “You need your energy back if you are to go to the Lotus Eaters and back before they come to pick you up.”

“You knew?” Nico asked. “Then all that talk about you and Nike being at odds—”

“Still very true,” Tyche sighed, giving him a keycard. “I’d overlook this one easily, since it leaves her looking bad, but then you wouldn’t have your chance to sneak out.”

“If you don’t like her, why are you helping me?”

“I may not like your patron much,” Tyche said. “But your father is just marvelous. And he did ask me to look after you all those years ago when you first were brought to Vegas.”

“My father? Who is—?”

“Now, now, don’t count yourself _that_ lucky.” Tyche laughed. “That answer is for you to find elsewhere. Right here, right now, there’s a more pressing matter for you, is there not?”

Nico nodded.

“Then good luck, Nico!”

She turned so bright Nico had to close his eyes. When he opened, the goddess was gone. In her place, there was a presenting card that seemed to glow on its own.

_Miss T_  
_Pit Manager_  
_Lady Luck Casino_

Not wanting to ignore luck that literally came from the goddess of fortune. He took the card and left the room, calling for the elevator.

He had a sister to find.

* * *

Finding the Lotus was not as difficult as he had feared. While most people just stared blankly when he had asked for directions, he only had to walk along Las Vegas Strip for about 15 minutes before the hotel he had spent untold decades on seemingly appeared right across the street when he turned around.

Decidedly, he marched towards the entrance, where a man dressed in a stereotypical bellhop uniform gave a bow.

“Welcome back!” he said, giving him a very convincing smile. “The Hotel staff was quite worried about you.”

“Yeah, lost my way… and my keycard.” he said, giving a shrug. “Is my sister still in?”

“Let’s go to the front desk, I’m sure you qualify for a platinum card,” the spent human said brightly, walking a few steps ahead of him. Nico decided to humor him.

The girl at the Front Desk gave a vacant smile and offered a silver keycard at him. Nico felt something akin to pity.

Octavian had made him read about the Lotus Eaters back in Camp Jupiter so he could be ‘properly grateful’ for his rescue. They were shadows of people who allowed themselves to fall for shallow pleasures and let Apathy feed off them. Once they were spent, they were put to work, luring new souls down the same path.

Nico didn’t know if there was a god of Apathy, or even if such a deity required followers and cult like the Lotus Eaters, but the truth was that these people had existed and preyed on heroes and mortals alike since classical times. Of course, the narcotic plants they used on Odysseus’s crew just wouldn’t do the job in the modern world. The Lotus Eaters had to adapt, and what better place to live off empty excesses than the gambling capital of America?

“I want to look at your computer for a sec,” he said firmly. The girl kept smiling and offering him the card.

“Everything is in order, you certainly qualify for the upgrade,” she said in a fake cheery voice.

Annoyed, Nico pulled out the card Tyche gave him. As he expected, the slight divine power it radiated awoke something in the young woman, just like Nike’s wreath did a few years ago on the employees pestering Octavian.

“I know it is, but I want to see the guest list.” Not expecting an answer Nico went behind the desk and pushed the girl aside, who seemed torn between stopping him and using the slight independence he had gained from seeing the card to go away.

The fact that he didn’t know if she would escape or just go to play games and eat at the buffet troubled Nico more than it should have.

_“These people are beyond saving,”_ he rationalized. _“Bianca is not.”_

For a place ruled by materialism and apathy, the database was very well organized, having a long list of names from all the way back to when the Lotus Eaters were just a small population on a faraway island.

Nico didn’t know when he and Bianca had arrived at the hotel. He was about to try and reach the vacant girl before his eyes caught small annotations along the bottom of the document.

“This is so tidy,” he commented, mostly to himself.

“It was a real mess before Excel,” the girl said, blinking slowly. “Before, we used parchment… so much clutter.”

Nico bit his lip, knowing that getting distracted would just make it easier to fall back with the Lotus Eaters. He realized he would never find what he was looking for in the endless registry list, so he decided to go for the checkouts.

As he expected, the list reduced greatly, having only a few dozen names, starting, of course, with Odysseus. He went straight to the end, knowing that it was unlikely anyone left after him.

He was surprised to find the names Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson among the checkouts, but he tried his best to ignore his wandering mind until he left the hotel.

After them, there was a Grover Underwood followed by what he assumed what his full name, Nico di Angelo.

There was only one more name after his.

That of Bianca di Angelo.

* * *

The door opened barely a minute after he had closed it. In came Miss T and his travelling companions, the latter looking very tired.

“So… did it go well?” Nico asked. “It must have, it’s way past breakfast already.” He glanced at the digital clock, the numbers 11:54 blinking in red.

“You’re not hungry, are you?” Percy asked, concern written across his face. Nico felt oddly touched. “Lady Tyche said she sent you room service, but—”

“I got it,” Nico lied. “Did you guys eat too?”

“We did,” Annabeth confirmed. “As for our winnings…”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Leo said, plopping face first into the bed and screaming.

“We have $2500, which is pretty good,” Percy said as he patted Leo. “More than double what we had, but we managed to make $10,000 once.”

Leo’s muffled screaming became louder.

“He lost it all, didn’t he?”

“Lady Luck was _literally_ smiling at me!” Leo said, lifting his head and glaring at everyone. “What was I supposed to do, not throw all my money at the least likely number?”

“I saw it coming… it was pretty funny,” Tyche laughed.

“You… do know that Tyche is the goddess of both good and bad luck, right?”

“I do _now_!”

The others laughed, even Annabeth let out a small smile. Nico laughed along to mask his worry.

His sister was gone. He didn’t know who, or what, had taken her. His only clue was the front desk girl telling him a lawyer had taken her out after he had waved Tyche’s presentation card about 50 times on her face.

The Greek camp was his last chance. He knew an untrained demigod like Bianca wouldn’t survive for long on her own, so he could only hope that lawyer had been the real deal and delivered her there.

Nico looked at the smiling faces of his travelling companions. He didn’t know their plans, their ambitions or their goals, but he would have to at least trust them to take him to safety, and he had to make them trust him in turn.

His life, and possibly Bianca’s, depended on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked last chapter why no one had figured out Nico's parenting. Well, the answer is quite simple: They don't know it's a mystery, and assumed he was a son of Nike. Aside from that, only Percy knew about the Shadow Travel, and his narration makes it quite obvious none of them had ever seen anyone do something like that (since Shadow Travel is Nico's thing in canon PJO). 
> 
> I got really frustrated at Nico this chapter. I know it's the character I gave him but... COMMUNICATE DAMMIT! If Nico were more honest, he wouldn't have so many problems right now and in the future. Then again, if he were more honest, Octavian wouldn't have had the impact he has had on him.
> 
> Tyche, on the other hand, was a joy to write. I came up with the idea of her showing up in Vegas early on as a flighty character who would help Nico sneak out (it fits with her luck theme), but as I read up on her, I found out she's quite close with Pluto/Hades, as Fortune and Riches are, no duh, linked to each other. That gave the character a reason to help Nico, even if she isn't his patron's biggest fan.
> 
> So, next chapter is back on the road with our heroes. Expect some bonding between our four demigodly heroes! Until then, I'd appreciate any comment or kudos, as always!


	8. JttE: The Wolf who Cried Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had to be rewritten twice, so that's why it was delayed until today. I'd say it won't happen again, but another long wait awaits as I've been itching to write a one-shot unrelated to this fic, but hey, if you're into Percico (and if you're not, why read this?) you might want to check it out when it's released.
> 
> Shameless self-promotion aside, let's get on with the chapter!

They left Lady Luck Casino after lunch at the buffet. Helena had a full tank, and had been shined and tuned overnight, all expenses covered by Tyche for being “exceptionally good entertainers.”

In other words, she was grateful they had given her praise by entering her domain.

“Have a good trip, guys!” She said as they loaded the trunk with a case filled with junk food and drinks, just in case, as well as a few cheaply made Vegas tees in case of emergency. “Oh, and Nico?”

“Yeah?” He asked. The others stopped what they were doing, making it obvious they were listening in.

Amateurs.

“Here you go, a good luck charm for being such a source of entertainment for me,” She gave him a purple flower encased in a transparent plastic box. “Oh, and if you see your patron on your journey, tell her I’ll pluck out her wings and make her eat them Buffalo style if she grants another gift like yours.” She smiled brightly. It was the first time Nico could say he had been intimidated by such an honest and carefree expression.

“Noted,” he said, practically running to the car. The others followed suit, barely having the foresight to close the trunk.

Tyche waved them goodbye as Helena sped through the Las Vegas Strip and into the nearest exit to the highway.

* * *

They stopped at every rest station just for an excuse to move around. In each stop, Leo went to any hardware store available and bought some trinket or another, as well as a GPS and a battery.

“I’m going to fit Helena with a self-navigating system,” Leo told Nico when he asked. “Using satellite tech is too risky for demigods, so I’ll just use the GPS’s stored map and fit a few proximity cameras”

“Uh…”

“He’s making a self-driving car,” Annabeth translated for him. “Since he’s the only one allowed to drive it…”

“She’s delicate, okay?” Leo said defensively. “You already slammed her door once, and Rachel told me what Percy did to his step-dad’s car.”

“Technically, that was a Pegasus,” The son of Poseidon pointed out. “I couldn’t know it would land on it.”

“Yeah, I guess it was all the Pegasus’s owner’s fault,” Leo said sarcastically. Percy chuckled awkwardly. “Point for Leo, you’re not driving my baby!”

Nico looked at all them and sighed, sitting in the back. He had hoped on getting some sleep after having to stay nearly three hours awake in the copilot’s seat with nothing but talk show radio and his travelling companions’ banter to keep him alert, but was surprised when the one to seat beside him was Annabeth instead of Percy.

The daughter of Athena had been the coldest to him so far. He hadn’t expected her to willingly be any nearer than she had to. The other two wordlessly went to the front of the car and started the engine. Nico cursed internally, realizing this probably had been planned since Vegas.

“So, Nico,” she said.

Nico took a deep long breath, preparing himself for the interrogation.

“What is it?”

“That was an… _interesting_ ability you showed back in Reno.” She gave him a small, non-threatening smile. Nico refrained from rolling his eyes at how _bad_ she was at being inconspicuous. “How did you do it?”

“I’m not sure,” Nico said as he shrugged. “I just know I can travel from one place to another, as long as it’s dark enough. Maybe it’s a demigod thing.”

“Well, it is rather unusual,” Annabeth continued. “Unheard of, even. That kind of stuff is not Nike’s thing.”

“Then it must come from my godly parent,” Nico said, shrugging. Seeing Annabeth’s confusion, Nico tried to appear as understanding as possible. “Nike is my patron, and I had a human mother, my godly parent is male.”

“Are you sure?” Leo asked, glancing at him through the rearview mirror. “Because a few Apollo kids have two dads so…”

“Tyche said she knew **_him_**.” He stressed the pronoun. “She just didn’t want to tell me.”

“Yeah, gods can be fickle like that,” Percy said. “Well, don’t worry. It’s only a matter of time before you’re claimed. The gods promised to do so after we defeated Kronos.”

“Funny, I know a lot of unclaimed demigods back in Camp Jupiter,” Nico muttered. Percy glanced at him worriedly. “That deal might only extend to their Greek personas.”

The other three just looked between them. Nico felt as if he was being pitied.

* * *

They got to Richfield, Utah, about an hour after sundown. Seeing the usually energetic Leo about to fall asleep on the wheel, the three of them decided to stop at one of the many motels that peppered the city.

“A lot of hotels and the like for such a small city,” Percy said, lightly slapping Leo periodically to keep him awake.

“It’s right in the middle of LA and Denver, so it’s a popular stop for tourists,” Nico said absentmindedly. Percy and Annabeth looked at him. “What? It was in a brochure at the last stop.”

“Nothing, it’s just… I’m usually the one that explains things like that,” Annabeth said with a shrug.

“Also, not many demigods like reading much,” Percy said, turning around in his seat. “Dyslexia and all.”

“I enjoy reading enough to try despite it.” Nico looked away as he tried to find an okay motel. “Granted, most books I have read in my life are in Latin or Greek anyways, so…” he shrugged.

It was quiet for the next couple of minutes until Leo found a cheap motel that didn’t look about to collapse or be overrun by cockroaches.

Royal Arcadia Inn was about as inconspicuous as they came. A three-story building with about ten or so doors on each floor, and a separate, smaller building where the front desk and dining room were. By the street, a huge sign boasted, “Breakfast included.”

Leo managed to park perfectly despite being half-asleep and decided to wait for the three of them to check in.

The man in front of them was burly and rugged, with a long black beard with silver strands and his hair tied in a ponytail and blood-shot aqua eyes. If Nico were to guess, he’d say the man was middle aged, and probably obsessed with fitness, considering the size of his arms.

“Welcome to Royal Arcadia, how long will you be staying?” The man said. His voice was low and rumbling, but with a hint of a smile.

“Just tonight, we’re four,” Annabeth said, looking around, on edge. The guy at the front desk (Linus, his nametag said) just nodded and fished a set of keys from below the desk.

“Room 308,” he grunted before looking at the back. “Gene! Go fetch some bread for tomorrow’s breakfast! We have guests!” He roared.

An older teen with the same black hair and similar physique appeared from the back door, groaning.

“You don’t have to shout, bro, I’m less the ten feet away,” Gene said as he gave them a small wave and ran out the building.

“Good kid,” Linus told them. “Dad left a while ago, so it’s just us brothers taking care of each other.”

Not knowing how to respond, Annabeth just gave a sympathetic nod. Percy and Nico followed along.

“Anyways, breakfast is whenever you kids wake up, we’re pretty flexible around here,” He grinned. Nico noticed his teeth were pearly white, contrasting his olive skin tone even more. “Check out is at 12, though. Do it later and I’ll charge you an extra night.”

Percy gave a nod as he took the keys from the counter and left a few bills to cover the night. Giving quick thanks, the three took a knocked out Leo away from Helena and nudged him up to the third floor.

The room, like the rest of the motel, was very standard. Two double beds and a small TV, with a bathroom at the back. Leo went straight for the bed closest to the door while Annabeth went to the bathroom to change, leaving Percy and Nico to take Leo’s shoes off.

“You think this bed can fit all three of us?” Percy asked. Nico looked at him bemusedly.

“I thought you and Annabeth would share,” he said, even more confused as Percy turned bright red.

“Well, you see, Annabeth and I… we’re not… I think… we haven’t…” Percy stammered for a solid minute, glancing at the bathroom door all the while.

“I get it,” Nico lied. Probably something about how long they had been together or something he had no interest in. “You can share with Leo, I’ll go to the car and take one of the sleeping bags.”

“Wait, I can—”

“Percy,” he said firmly. The son of Poseidon shut up immediately in a way that reminded Nico of a trained circus animal. “You guys have done so much for me, and will probably do a lot more in the future. Just, let me sleep on the floor this one time. We can take turns later.”

Percy didn’t speak, just gave a nod.

Nico went out to retrieve the sleeping back.

Getting others to trust him was hard. Octavian made it look so easy, though he always said it was something you were born with.

“If it wasn’t for your blessing, you’d have the charisma of a dead worm,” he used to say.

Shaking his head, Nico headed back to the room, sleeping bag in hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gene returning to the front desk building. He had a grocery store bag and about three or four other men with him.

* * *

“Wake up!” Nico heard someone whisper-shout. He opened his eyes just in time to feel Annabeth shaking him. “The others are gone.”

Nico moved sluggishly as he looked up from his sleeping bag to the bed beside him. Indeed, Percy and Leo were not there.

He stood up and shook his head, trying to be as awake as possible.

“Okay,” he said as he opened the door. “The only ones here besides us are creepy Linus and his brother, so it’s not like we need any theories of what happened.”

Annabeth nodded.

“A monster trap, because when is it not?” She asked no one in particular. “When can our lives be easy?”

Nico looked at the sign touting the motel name. From what he knew, monsters were as obvious as a sack of rocks to the face, and their ego made them leave clues of their true nature everywhere.

“Arcadia… breakfast…” His eyes widened and he took Annabeth’s hand, rushing through the stairs. “How good are you with multiple enemies?”

As a response, Annabeth just took out her weapon. A celestial bronze knife about seven inches long.

“I can’t fight, so we’ll need to rely on you and on my blessing until we find dork and dorker.” Nico sighed. “I just hope we don’t fight as many as I fear.”

“What are you talking about?” Annabeth hissed as they approached the front building. “What are we up against?”

Nico wanted to ignore her and just bless her, but he realized that he could use this to gain some terrain with the stubborn daughter of Athena, who could use the information for a better battle plan.

“There’s this region in Greece called Arcadia,” he said in a hush. He could hear multiple voices coming from the back of the building, where the kitchens probably were. “Its founder, according to legend, was Lycaon, the first Lycanthrope.”

* * *

Percy woke up after a few minutes of not managing to find a comfortable position. At first, he thought it was because of Leo turning and crushing his arms, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself tied to a skewer and gagged.

“I’m telling you, breakfast sausages,” a voice said somewhere at his back. “They go especially well with the hot sauce.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Genetor,” a grumbling voice he recognized as Linus said. “We’re not serving our guests chopped innards again.”

“It’s a staple of American continental breakfast!” A third voice said. “Bacon is just skin, it has no substance!”

“Phineus is wrong, but when is he not?” someone else said. “If father were here, he’d just make bacon and process the rest into patties, more variety.”

“Well father’s not here!”

Percy struggled to crane his head towards the voices. Many men, far more than he could count, were gathered on a rather spacious kitchen forming a semicircle. In front of them, Leo was hanging on a butcher’s hook, naked except for his underwear, with many dotted lines marked on his body.

Leo himself was struggling to move away as the men pointed at different parts of his body.

Percy cursed against the gag. Of course they were monsters, why else would someone advertise a $30 a night motel (breakfast included) and have it completely empty? Mortals _knew_ instinctually to stay away from monster venues. Demigods were the only morons to fall for it.

The sound of his wriggling must have alerted them, as about 5 or so of the men went to check on him.

“Poor thing,” One of them said. “If only your friend had a bit more meat to him, we would have only needed one…”

“Excuse me?” He heard a voice from outside the room alongside the ‘ding’ of a bell. “I was wondering if you had seen my friends.”

Nico!

“Coming!” Linus shouted. “Well, we did say breakfast would be as soon as they woke up…” He smirked and picked a machete, tossing it to a bigger guy. “Make bacon, jerky or whatever, but do it quickly.”

The guy in question approached Leo, a smile on his face, before Leo swiged and kicked him in the face.

“Hey!” He shouted, holding his nose. “You were supposed to tie his feet, Mantineus!”

“I did!” The guy defended himself. “I—”

He was interrupted by an inhuman, blood-chilling howl. The door opened to Linus, bluer and hairier than ever before. He gave a couple steps towards the other men, before falling on all fours.

The hair kept growling out of control, now covering his arms, chest and hands, which were getting sleeker and smaller by the second.

What collapsed in front of the crowd was a wolf, dressed in Linus’s wife-beater and jeans and struggling to breathe.

“I-I’m sorry!” Nico entered the room, looking distressed. In his gloved hand was a bent plastic fork. “It was an accident, I swear!”

“What did you do to him?” Phineus said, snarling, his teeth had turned jagged, and his eyes yellow.

Nico seemed not to notice.

“I— I didn’t do anything!” He said, still looking anxious. “I just told him that if he saw my friends, to tell them Nico… Nyctemos is looking for them!”

The name seemed to strike a chord, as most of the men stopped moving to look at him with wide eyes.

“He threw himself over me and stabbed himself and then… well, now I’m here,” Nico continued explaining, appearing unaware to his audience glares.

“So, old Thunder britches brings us this parody of our brother to torment us?” One of them said, his face getting covered in fur. “He was not cursed, but the rest of us have to deal with unending hunger.”

“Ungrateful,” another said.

“Disrespectful.”

Before long, the kitchen was filled with wolfmen, crouching and ready to pounce Nico.

He tried shouting through the gag, hoping the noise would alert Nico, but the boy stayed oblivious.

“I will enjoy feasting on you,” one of the wolves said. “It will send Olympus a clear message, not to mess with Lycaon’s brood! Now prepare for—”

The wolfman collapsed mid-sentence. On his back was a very familiar celestial bronze knife.

Nico took advantage of the distraction, moving towards the closest wolf and jamming his plastic fork into its mouth and then jumping back. The wolf proceeded to attack him but started coughing and fell down before even touching him.

Whatever Nico had done, it was contagious. Slashes started appearing on all the wolves, all of whom fell down, asphyxiating, until only three remained.

“You know, you really need to be better hosts,” he told them. “All these years and you still haven’t learned your lesson.”

The three wolves attacked at once. Nico gave a step backward and a purple, torn down flower petals appeared out of nowhere, being blown right into the monsters’ gaping maws.

The creatures howled and fell down, twitching, but seemingly uninterested in continuing the attack.

Annabeth took out her Yankees cap, and put her hand in the air.

After a moment’s hesitation, Nico gave a slight smirk and gave her a high five. Percy just continued to stare at them and the dying wolves around the kitchen.

_“What the hell just happened here?”_

* * *

“Lycaon was turned into a Lycanthrope, or werewolf, by Zeus for killing his son Nyctemos and serving him as dinner to him,” Nico explained back in the room. With the wolves dead, they decided to stay there the last few hours until morning to rest. "He had 40 sons, so he didn’t see it as a huge loss, and Nyctemos’s brothers helped him, as it meant they got to be further up in line to the throne of Arcadia."

“Because of that, the sons shared the curse of the father,” Annabeth finished. She was looking intently at her knife. “However, Nyctemos was revived, and he became Lycaon’s successor as king.”

“Okay,” Leo said slowly, scrubbing at his skin to get rid of the butcher lines in his body. “That explains one thing, but how did you two manage to kill 39 wolves like that?”

“Strategy,” Nico said, smirking.

“A blessing,” Annabeth continued.

“And just a bit of Luck,” they both finished at the same time.

Percy felt like his head was spinning. He wondered if he wasn’t still sleeping, seeing Annabeth and Nico so in sync, when just 12 hours ago Annabeth was ready to ditch him by the side of the road.

If either noticed his confusion, they didn’t show it, instead showed the plastic container Tyche had given him, now empty.

“When we were looking for a weapon for me, we found this,” he explained. “The flower Tyche gave me was Wolfsbane, said to be toxic for werewolves.”

“To be fair, the plant is toxic for _everyone_ ,” Annabeth said. “Werewolves just experience the effects quicker than most. We just went to the supply closet for some gloves, mashed the plant into my knife and a plastic fork from the dining room, and the rest is history.”

“Well, um, thanks for the save,” Percy said, still dazzled. “I… think I’m going to sleep now.”

“Me too,” Leo said. “I have a lot to think about. Almost being turned into sausages really put things in perspective for me.” He shuddered.

“Are you going vegetarian?” Annabeth joked.

“Hell no!” Leo said. “It was traumatic, but not _that_ traumatic!”

Nico chuckled. Unlike other times Leo had made jokes, this laugh struck Percy as genuine instead of polite.

He found himself smiling at the boy’s happiness.

* * *

When they were rested enough, Nico found himself once again in the back of the car with Annabeth. Unlike last time, the daughter of Athena was not looking at him, but she still looked pensive.

“Say Nico,” she said once they were out of Richfield. Nico held back a sigh and just gave a nod. He had thought he was outside of the interrogation zone. “Do you like occult books?”

“What?”

“What do you like to do?” She asked. “Why do you like reading? Any other interests?”

“Where is all this coming from?” He asked back, slightly flustered at all the questions.

 “You said you didn’t know your godly parent, right?” she said. Nico nodded slowly. “Well, most demigods have passions or hobbies relating to their godly parent.”

“Oh yeah, I love swimming, and horses,” Percy said from the front. “And you already know how Leo is with cars and engineering.”

“Nike kids are super competitive, Apollo kids enjoy archery and the arts,” Annabeth listed. “So tell me, what do you like?”

It dawned on Nico that this was Annabeth trying to help him. Part of him felt touched that she was actually trying. The rest of him felt pleased over winning her over.

Going back to the question, Nico mulled it over for a few seconds.

“Memorizing stuff, maybe?” Nico said. “I knew about Lycaon from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, back in Rome I read nearly all the historical records… I just like trivia, I guess.”

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other before looking at him. Wordlessly, Annabeth got really close to his face before sighing in apparent relief.

“Not grey eyes,” she murmured.

“It’s not a universal rule, you know?” Leo said. “Take my best friend, Piper. Her mother’s Aphrodite, but she really couldn’t care less about beauty or people’s love lives.”

“Isn’t she the girl that can charm people to do anything with her voice?” Percy asked.

“Well, yeah, but you take that away, and you really can’t tell who her mother is,” he said. “My point is, don’t think too hard about it, you find out when you find out.”

Nico smiled at them. A warm feeling on his stomach.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Nico felt as if a weight he had been carrying since leaving the Lotus with Octavian had gotten lighter. “Still, thanks for trying.”

Annabeth and Percy smiled at him, before turning to talk about what kind of restaurants they might find on their next stop.

For the first time, Nico felt like joining their conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my early drafts, this chapter had Lycaon as well as his children as antagonists, but I couldn't really fit in the version of Lycaon Riordan wrote (far more vicious, more "Hollywood werewolf" than what I needed, and to top it all off, immortal and unable to be harmed by demigod weapons) into it. Oh well, c'est la vie, as they say. It was still interesting to write about the original werewolves, even if the OG one couldn't be used.
> 
> So, Annabeth and Nico, the friendship we were robbed of in the books. I have to admit, reading the books, I always felt Nico and Annabeth would be amazing friends. They share a lot of traits that I think would allow them to connect (hence the sibling scare in this chapter), but they never have a chance to. I started this fic knowing these two would be friends after starting distrustful of each other, and despite Nico's traumas, he's starting to actually like and feel affection for these people, the horror!
> 
> Next chapter, we'll be moving on to a certain blond god, full of himself and ready to impart dubious wisdom on our heroes. It will take a while, as I first want to write that one-shot that has been eating at me for a few months, so please be patient, I won't abandon this story, be sure of it! And hey, as always, comments and kudos are very appreciated and a huge morale boost, so you know... you could leave those... if you want...


	9. JttE: The Theater Attendant and the Viper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back. Let's get rolling!

Grand Junction, the most populous city in Mesa County, Colorado. Nicknamed the River city because of how two rivers intersected on its location. Like Richfield, it was mainly a pit stop for people travelling across the U.S., although it did offer quite a few camping and nature trek options for tourists.

It was also the place where Helena decided it had enough of four teens making her mileage go through the roof and committed suicide.

“C’mon babe, you can’t do this to me!” Leo cried as he kept his head inside the car’s hood.

“Can you fix it?” Nico asked him as Annabeth paced.

“Of course he can!” Percy said, for both his sake and his girlfriend’s. “He already builds cars in his spare time.”

“That’s what we get for buying overpriced junk!” Annabeth was far less kind, kicking a tire.

“Hey! She just overheated, okay? I just need to replace a few parts and she’ll be golden.” Leo got out of the hood and crossed his arms, offended. “Just take me to a hardware store and I’ll… uh, guys? Is it me, or is that huge dog holding an original Subaru SVX motor fan?”

Nico followed Leo’s gaze. Indeed, right in the middle of the walkway was a huge dog with bright yellow fur, something clearly mechanical in its mouth. As he focused a little on the animal, though, the mist dispelled, making Nico realize the yellow tones were far brighter and more unnatural than possible, and that its paws and coat were more akin to a wolf’s than a dog’s.

“That’s not a dog,” Annabeth said slowly. “And I don’t know enough about cars to confirm what it has in its mouth.”

Percy uncapped his sword-pen. The wolf stayed put.

“Do you think one of the werewolves survived?”

“Unlikely,” Nico said, observing the animal’s blue eyes closely. The way it stared… it was eerily familiar. He felt a shiver run down his spine. “I think it’s a daimon.”

“A what now?” Leo mumbled, his eyes locked on the item in the animal’s mouth. “More importantly, is it friendly?”

“A daimon is a spirit guide of sorts; they tend to be associated with a god or other semi-divine being.” Annabeth rattled off.

“They are benevolent, as long as the god it serves isn’t pissed at you.” Nico gave a few experimental steps towards the wolf. The creature nodded, encouraging him.

“Great, Annabeth in stereo,” Leo snarked. The other three ignored him.

“It wants us to follow him,” Percy realized. All looked at each other before nodding, and walked towards the wolf.

The daimon stood up, almost as if saying _‘finally!’_ and walked alongside the street.

* * *

The golden wolf led them towards a theater, before disappearing in front of the ticket cabin. They looked at each other before Percy sighed and walked towards the window.

“Uh, hi, we were wondering if you had a… you?” Percy said, looking at the blond dressed in a fancy theater attendant outfit.

“Why yes, I do have a me, but sadly I’m not on sale,” the man said, showing a toothy smile. “Why if it isn’t Percy Jackson, do you remember your old friend Fred?”

“I just- I don’t…” Percy struggled to find the words. “Weren’t you a hobo?”

“I’m in a better place now,” Fred explained, shrugging. “Besides, a theater fits me much better than the back of a train cart, does it not?”

Annabeth, meanwhile, looked at him for about ten seconds before her eyes widened. Percy moved as quickly as he could.

“You’re Apo—”

“Now, Annabeth, _Fred_ here is undercover,” Percy said, his hand over her mouth. “The _Higher Ups_ can’t know he’s here.”

Annabeth glared at him for interrupting her, but nodded.

He looked at his companions. Leo still seemed confused, but Nico was frozen in place, eyes wide, his face had an expression he could only call a mix of recognition and fear.

Percy frowned and tried to touch him, but Nico jumped back immediately.

“Ah, what a reunion,” Fred said happily. “In fact, I feel a Haiku coming:

“Too long have I searched  
And I finally found you  
I’m really great”

The four of them stayed silent for what felt like unnaturally long. Percy sighed and decided to bite the bullet.

“Deep.”

“Isn’t it?” Fred grinned before pulling out tickets and giving them to Percy. “Come in, we can talk freely inside.”

With their car busted and not wanting to offend an Olympian, The quartet made their way through the entrance, following Fred into the empty theater.

* * *

Nico was trying his hardest not to hyperventilate.

In front of him was none other than the progenitor of Octavian’s madness. The god who had promised him ‘greatness’ and led him to capture, torture and abuse him when he was but eleven.

Apollo ignored him as he closed the door backstage behind him. Nico half expected him to turn around with the same cruel expression he had seen Octavian adopt so many times before, only to be greeted with the same smile from outside.

“Well then, it seems you have put us gods in quite the pickle!” He said lightly, as if he was commenting on the weather.

“Lord Apollo,” Annabeth said, frowning. “What do you mean? Is something happening to the gods?”

“Oh, Apollo!” Leo snapped his fingers. “I knew his face was familiar.”

“I ought to be more than just ‘familiar’ to any demigod worth their salt, I think,” he huffed. “But yes, Annabeth, what you did back in California has put the gods, and by extension you, in huge peril.”

“What do you mean?” Percy asked, frowning.

“Ah-ah.” He wagged his finger at Percy. “That’s classified information; you have to be this godly to get access to it.” Apollo pointed at himself. Percy rolled his eyes.

Nico kept on looking at his face slowly, waiting for the snake within to show up. When Apollo turned his gaze at him, he stood a little taller, goosebumps all over his body. The god looked… apologetic?

Whatever it was, it lasted only a moment, as he was back to sunny smiles when he turned back to the other three.

“I’ll tell you what, there’s more to my stay in this place than socializing with you,” Apollo said, producing a small picture of a girl about two years old and looking at it. “There’s a monster prophesized to eat my latest pride and joy unless stopped. Kill it and I’ll tell you about what lurks in the future for your camp.”

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other, their eyes already filled with defeat.

“Fine, just tell us where to find this monster.”

The photo turned into a map with a red X marked; above it was a time stamp.

“Do it at this hour exactly,” he said. “You won't find it any sooner, and later you'll just scare it off for a time and it’ll be untraceable when it next appears.”

Percy took the map.

“Untraceable?”

“After that point, it will flee and it and my daughter’s fate will be locked,” Apollo explained. “Nothing will stop her death.”

Percy, Leo and Annabeth nodded.

“Do this and I’ll even repair your vehicle for you,” Apollo continued. “On one condition.”

“What is it?” Percy asked warily.

“I need to talk to Nico.” Apollo said brightly. “In private.”

Every fiber of his body screamed to run away. The others looked at him, wordlessly asking for permission. Percy seemed to know something was wrong, as he seemed ready to take him out of the room as soon as he said it.

They all would, really. It was strange, having companions ready to fight tooth and nail for him after just a week together.

He felt the overwhelming need to reciprocate that loyalty.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, giving Percy a reassuring smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Annabeth look as if she had eaten something sour.

“We’ll be right outside if you need us,” Percy said as he left the room.

He turned towards Apollo, ready once again to see his demeanor change once they were alone.

* * *

“He looked terrified,” Percy said for what had to be the fourth time in the last few minutes. “Maybe I should go in and—”

“We wait,” Annabeth said. “Just this once, do as the god who will help us says, Percy.”

“Tell that to Hera,” Percy muttered. Annabeth sighed. She did deserve that, she supposed, but in her defense, she had been 14 and just been exposed to the very worst the goddess of marriage could be.

Cows still hated her on sight, and she wasn’t stupid enough to approach a peacock.

It made her decision to not be a vegetarian an easy one, though.

But now she wondered if insulting the patron of marriage, fidelity and family was the reason she was losing Percy.

“He has helped you a lot before, trust him with Nico.”

If anyone saw her boyfriend’s expression, they might have believed she just told him to swallow ash.

She wasn’t stupid, she had seen how Percy acted around Nico since they found him in the Roman Camp. He was overly mindful and protective of him in a way he never had been with anyone. At first, she was willing to write it off as Percy looking for a brotherly bond, something to replace Tyson now that his schedule was filled working in a forge at Poseidon’s realm and as a guard on Olympus.

Her hypothesis had gone to the trash before they even left her father’s house.

Percy was enamored with Nico. She wasn’t even sure if he had noticed, but it had made the trip… difficult, for all of them. She was aware she couldn’t hate Nico for no reason, but the other option was to be mad at Percy, and at this point, she was afraid to strain their relationship even more. As a result, she had antagonized Nico over every slight, over being snobbish (he wasn't), untrustworthy (not enough proof) and secretive (they were also keeping things from him). Yet all of that had only made Percy take his side instead of hers.

She loved Percy, that much she was sure of, and he was literally loyal to a fault. He wouldn't betray her over a crush he might net even be fully aware of. The only thing she could do was try to mend and strengthen their relationship. A relationship that she hadn’t known had been broken and weakened to begin with.

All because of Nico, through no fault of his own.

She kind of hated that after Richfield, she couldn’t find it in herself to hate him anymore.

The door opened, showing a still skittish but much calmer Nico. She watched as Percy hovered all over him, asking if he was okay.

“Apollo asked me to bless his daughter,” he said. “Apparently the monster and her are destined to meet no matter what. So, you’ll delay it by forcing it to reform, and I’ll bless her so she can kill it when it comes back in the future.”

Annabeth frowned. Such simple instructions didn’t require Apollo and Nico to be alone.

She knew Nico hid something about himself, but figured it was personal stuff he wasn’t ready to share. It was still her excuse for her early rudeness, even if that was more rooted in jealousy than suspicion.

Now a god had gotten involved in the secrecy, which meant it had unpredictable ramifications. It was something that could put camp, her friends, and Percy in danger.

Shamefully, Annabeth found herself hoping her newest theory was true.

* * *

Nico thought nothing could surprise him anymore.

Seeing a god apologize proved him wrong.

It had been rather subdued. Obviously, the god didn’t want to appear vulnerable to a mortal, so the apology was very offhanded, but it was sill honest.

 _“Flattery, every god’s weakness,”_ Apollo had said, chuckling. _“We exist because of people’s belief, so it makes quite the good bait for us.”_

Apollo hadn’t changed Octavian’s destiny, just made him aware of it. He was destined to do something big that would make him remembered, but what that thing was depended entirely on what Octavian did with his life.

The result: a control freak obsessed with power and renown.

Nico sighed as they reached the park where the monster was to make an appearance. A few feet away, there was a little girl playing in a sandbox with a bright red bucket. It hadn't taken them long to identify her as Apollo's daughter.

“It’s almost time,” Annabeth said, checking her watch. “Where is this monster anyway?”

“And why this time in particular?” Leo asked. “what will make it ‘untraceable’ after today?”

Something prickled at the back of Nico’s head, like an itch from the inside of his brain.

Turning around, he noticed the large shadow of a tree.

“Over there,” he said, almost on instinct.

The others turned around just in time to see a strip of the shadows become thicker before brightening and turning emerald before taking on an infinity of shades of green.

A snake, about three feet long appeared out of nowhere and began slithering around. Nico noticed a horn growing from the front of its head, looking like a nose.

“Did that thing… just appear out of nowhere?” Annabeth said glancing at Nico.

“Yeah, I think it’s similar to what I did back in Reno,” Nico confirmed. “I guess now we know how it can become untraceable.”

He wracked his brain over any and all mythological snakes, trying to identify the mysterious monster.

The snake’s scales began blinking rapidly, changing colors until they all turned the same hue as the tree’s shade and curling around itself.

“That might help too,” Percy pointed out. Nico felt something click in his brain.

“A sep,” he said trying to not lose sight of the snake.

“Gesundheit,” Leo said.

“No, it’s a sepedon, or sep,” Nico explained. “A chameleon-like snake which is insanely fast. Its venom can rot anything.”

“Okay, so we just approach it and—”

Whatever Percy was about to say was interrupted when the snake moved its head lightning fast. Its gaze focused on a sandbox where the toddler was laughing.

As if lured by a siren’s song, the snake uncurled and started sidewinding slowly towards the box, its scales changing color to match the grass around it.

“Change of plans, we go now.” Percy and Annabeth ran towards the sandbox.

The snake noticed them and opened its jaw, revealing four long fangs.

Demigod reflexes kicked in as Annabeth raised her knife to her face just in time to block the venomous spit from the sep, but also corroding her knife, making it partially melt. Percy turned to check on her girlfriend, the opening the snake needed to disappear in the grass.

“Where did it…?”

Nico felt the itch again.

“The tree’s shadow,” he said. “It’s trying to get away!”

Percy nodded and ran towards the tree.

“Leo,” Annabeth called. “Make the girl laugh!”

“What?”

“Its destiny is to kill her; it’s attracted to her sounds!”

Leo nodded and ran to the girl. Nico noticed belatedly that there was no one watching her. Where was her mother?

His attention went back to Percy as he shouted. His shirt was in tatters, corroded by the sep’s venom.

He took it off quickly to avoid his skin being burned. The snake tried to use that opening to get away again, but Annabeth was prepared, having picked up a branch and trying to hit it.

The snake kept dodging the strikes, getting ever closer to the tree’s shade, before a small, song-like laughter was heard from the sandbox.

He turned to looked at Leo blowing raspberries on the girl’s stomach, making her laugh. The sep stopped in its tracks and looked back, its tongue slipping out of its mouth in interest. That split second was all Percy needed to pull out Riptide and behead the snake, which quickly turned to dust.

Percy and Annabeth were breathing hard. The snake’s nimbleness had given them quite the workout. Nico couldn’t help but notice that, without the slightly baggy shirt, Percy was really well-defined.

Shaking his head, he walked towards the sandbox. When she noticed him, the toddler stopped laughing and her eyes widened.

“You scared of mean old Nico?” Leo asked, smirking. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly! Mainly because he might keel over from a strong wind, but still!”

Nico glared at him and knelt besides the small girl. Her eyes were following his every movement.

“You’re safe for now,” he said softly. He had some olive oil packets from their last visit at a Walmart. He opened one and wet his fingers. “That thing will be back, though.”

“That’s reassuring,” Leo rolled his eyes. “Also, I’m not sure she understands you.”

Nico ignored him and touched her forehead with the oil. The girl looked about to cry.

“I pray to Nike that, from now on, you’ll find the strength to be victorious in every encounter with that creature.” He said solemnly.

The oil shined slightly, and the girl seemed mesmerized by the glow in front of her that she forgot to be scared of Nico.

“See, Teddy? Right where I left… her.” A girl, about their age, was looking at them suspiciously. Beside her was a boy, frowning at them. “What are you doing with Amanda?”

“Uh…” Leo gaped, trying to come up with an excuse.

“We were about to call the police,” Annabeth said, appearing behind them with the still shirtless Percy in tow. “How else would you react to an unattended baby?”

The girl looked around nervously before smiling at Percy.

“I was just looking for my brother,” she said, never letting the smile drop. If Nico looked hard enough he swore he could see steam coming out Annabeth’s ears. “He’s training for the marathon with our school, and I wanted to check on him.”

Behind her, her brother rolled his eyes.

“Flirt with Mike Terrence, more like,” he muttered, low enough that only she, Nico and Leo could hear.

“So, we don’t need to do anything that can cost me my job, do we, cutie?” She continued, winking at Percy.

Maybe it was the changing times (though he didn’t know how long he had been stuck in the Lotus), the fact that Percy was shirtless, or the fact that, despite his best efforts, girls just weren’t attractive, but he thought the lack of subtlety made the girl look ridiculous rather than appealing.

Percy, confusingly enough, glanced at him before taking a step back. If anything, it only made Annabeth madder.

“Yeah, that would be… a shame,” Percy said, touching his arm self-consciously. The girl giggled. “So, we didn’t see anything, we just stopped to play with a cute kid and her nice babysitter.”

“Thank you so much!” The girl said, going for a hug. Annabeth sidestepped so she was in front of Percy.

“You’re welcome. And with that, we’re leaving.” Annabeth grabbed Percy’s arm and started dragging him along. She glanced at Nico and Leo. “Right now.”

“Bye little fella,” Leo said, standing up. “Don’t let mean old snakes bite you.”

Nico managed an awkward wave at the toddler, her babysitter losing interest without Percy to stare at. The girl’s brother just gave him a curt nod, and he took that as his cue to leave.

* * *

The sun was about to set when they returned to the car. The daimon from before had a wrench in its mouth, looking at Leo expectantly.

Fred was behind it, looking way too pleased with himself.

“Well, I must say I impress myself,” he said. “Look at me, doing Hephaestus’s work all by myself.”

“Your daughter is safe,” Nico said, voice still a little on edge. Leo couldn’t say he understood what Nico’s deal was, but he wasn’t about to complain for a free car repair.

“Yes, that’s why I have granted you a boon.” Fred signaled the inside of the car. Leo peeked inside.

“No. Way. Dude!” Leo screamed as he retrieved the navigation chip and other components. “This… this is all I need for the self-driving upgrade, how did you—?”

“I have a knack for prophecy.” He winked. “I asked your father for this stuff before I came here.”

Leo almost dropped the components to the floor. These things were from his dad. He had barely seen him once or twice, but knowing he cared and knew enough to prepare these for him made him feel absolutely giddy.

“Okay, what about the other reward?” Annabeth asked. “What is that thing that will put Camp in danger?” Leo half-noticed her glancing at Nico but decided not to comment. He had an A.I. to program for Helena. Human drama would slow him down.

“Oh yeah,” Fred scratched his head. “Right now, the Roman senate is discussing what to do now that they know Greek demigods are still around and took their godly envoy. The Augur is convincing more and more people that war is the only choice.”

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other.

“This is why we let you guys believe the other side was no more.” Fred sighed. “The 100-Year War, the War of the Roses, the Civil war… all of them the result of Greek and Roman bickering.”

“And another conflict is about to unleash because of me,” Nico said, looking down. Percy put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

“Oh, but that’s not the worst of it,” Fred continued. “You see, both sides of the war worship the same gods, or rather different aspects of the same gods. We want to help our children on both sides, and that makes us… unstable, to say the least.”

“As in…?”

“Think multiple personalities trying to kill each other.” He chuckled nervously. “And killer headaches. As soon as war is declared, gods will be sitting ducks until it’s over. We’ll be vulnerable.”

The four of them exchanged glances.

“But that’s all I can offer for now. You have the information; you decide what to do with it.”

Leo closed his eyes just in time to stop himself from becoming a pile of ash. When he opened, Apollo was gone, and he was relieved to see his companions had the same sense of self-preservation.

“Octavian will convince everyone eventually,” Nico said, alarmed. “We might not have much time.”

“We need to warn camp.” Annabeth said, pulling out a drachma.

“We have to hurry back.” Percy continued.

That meant they needed to drive near constantly. It would be easier if Leo could let the car do her own thing and keep them on the move while he rested.

“I’ll get working on Helena’s mods.”

They all stared at him.

Leo stared back for the longest time, before realizing he had once again forgotten to use words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, how long has it been? Two months? Sorry about the delay. I had work, hit a creative slump, and other happenings.
> 
> Anyways, Apollo! He's a cool guy in PJO, even if he's a twat in actual mythology (Well, also in PJO, but a different kind of twat). I needed him for two reasons: show off Nico's lingering Octavian trauma, and get our group up to speed about the Roman side and what that will mean for the gods. These two plot points will be important in the future, so better to set them up early. Speaking off, we're getting some snail-paced development on the Percico department (you can take the headcanon that Percy was enamored with Nico post-Titan's Curse from my cold, dead hands). Expect some more of it in the future, featuring Bi Panic Percy and Being Gay is Wrong Nico. What joy.
> 
> Next time, however, we'll be getting to Denver, where our heroes will be meeting the _other_ renowned Greek archer... Until then, remember Kudos and comments are the lifeblood of this story, and I love hearing from you guys!


	10. JttE: Hunting Up the Wrong Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite taking a shorter time, this chapter felt more difficult to write, but anyways, please enjoy!

It took Leo a day and a half of near continuous work to finish Helena’s upgrade, after which he promptly fell asleep in the back of the car, his head resting in Nico’s lap.

In the front, Percy was pretending to drive, while the radio now had the words ‘LEAVING DENVER LEO’ on its digital display. Beside him, Annabeth was dozing off.

“You know, it’s kind of freaky to see the wheel turning on its own,” Percy commented in a hushed voice, probably desperate for something to fill in the silence.

“I’m actually more freaked over the fact that Leo programmed the car to hit on him,” Nico whispered back as the radio now lit up with the words ‘LEO YOU’RE THE BEST.’

Percy snorted, trying to keep his laughter down.

After another few minutes of silence Percy sighed and turned to look at him.

“Do you think… that we’ll have to fight another war?”

Nico stayed silent for a few seconds, considering how Percy might react to his answers.

“I don’t think the Praetors want a war,” he said carefully. “But I also know the Augur has a lot of people that owe him favors… Jason and Reyna will try to prevent it, but there’s a chance they’ll be outvoted.”

“Were you close to them?” He asked. Nico thought about it.

“I was closer to them than I was to many,” he answered. “The Augur… Octavian didn’t allow anyone to be too close, but they outranked him, so they talked to me more than your usual legionnaire.”

“Why?”

“A Praetor's rank is—”

“No, I mean, why did he keep you isolated?” Percy asked. “I don’t see any advantage to that.”

“Because you don’t know Octavian.” Nico looked around out of habit. Whenever he talked about Octavian, one of his lackeys was always there to report back at camp. “He is a paranoid control freak. Anyone who came close to me was planning to use my political position or my blessing against him.”

“Did they?”

“… I don’t know,” Nico answered honestly. “Every person that came to the Ara Victoriae wanted a blessing; they never cared enough to see the boy handing them out. It was like I wasn’t even there.”

He still remembered his first blessing, a Mercury legacy called Charlotte. Octavian had brought her as a non-believer to prove his power to the masses. After she was crowned MVP in the war games, she sought him out every other week for a few months before she understood only Octavian could grant her access to him. However, every time they met, she still gave him the same disinterested look from before unless he was giving a blessing.

“After a while, I realized Octavian was right, in a way,” Nico said softly. “Everyone wants something out of you. People want to be friends with your power, your godly patron or your standing, never with who you are… it’s not _that_ farfetched to think one of those people could be Octavian’s enemies; he’s smarmy enough to have a lot of them.”

Nico couldn’t fight, having something people wanted was his only means of defense. Octavian couldn’t kill or permanently maim him because he was useful as a symbol. Reyna would take his side as long as she valued the connection between her mother and his patron. Frank needed someone who wouldn’t judge him for not being the perfect soldier.

Percy and his friends needed to complete their quest.

People were selfish by nature, and any semblance of comradery or kindness always held a hidden purpose. Even so called ‘selfless’ good deeds were made with the intent of personal gratification. In a world so dark and twisted, Nico could only survive by using people as they used him.

“That’s a very sad way of looking at things,” Percy said, bringing him back to reality. “People sometimes do stuff because they like other people.”

“Yeah, but we call that family,” Nico retorted. Family was wonderfully irrational like that. They loved each other unconditionally, risked their lives for each other, worried about the other even when it didn’t make sense.

Bianca would do all that for him without hesitating, and he would do the same for her.

“Is Jason family?” Percy asked. Nico looked at him, bemused. “There was nothing he could gain by letting you go back at the tunnel, he did it because you’re his friend.”

Nico wanted to argue, but he found he couldn’t. So much had happened he hadn’t considered any of Jason’s motives, but he couldn’t find any other than make Octavian look bad (and really, the guy needed no help there after the assassination attempt).

“I also didn’t know you were Nike’s symbol at first,” Percy continued. “I offered you to take you with us because I thought you needed help.”

“That’s not—”

Nico’s words were cut by a huge monster jumping in the middle of the street, making Helena hit the breaks and launching them towards the front of the car.

* * *

Percy would like to think he took an impromptu monster attack with grace and swiftness, but the truth was that the car swinging him like a rattle had led to him basically tumbling out of danger.

To his credit, Annabeth and Leo were not much better, still groggy from sleep, while Nico just rolled out and immediately went for cover.

“Chimera!” He shouted. The monstrous lion-goat-snake roared and spit fire in his direction, just in time for him to roll out of the way.

Its eyes went straight to Percy, and all three heads made menacing sounds (or bleated).

“Hey, buddy, remember me?” He said nervously as Leo and Annabeth took out their weapons. “We met back when you were with your mom!”

Percy took the surge of fire that nearly took his eyebrows as a yes.

The distraction was not enough. As soon as Leo tried to approach with his sword, the snake tail hissed, spitting venom just inches away from him. Annabeth had no better luck, as the goat head seemed very interested in following her around and using the claws when she got near.

“Oh, right, you have three heads,” Percy commented as he still danced around the fire. “And they seem independent too, Lucky.”

Before any of them could think of a plan, a rain of arrows came out of nowhere, raining on the Chimera. The creature roared and spit fire and venom into the night, but it seemed to be no more than a nuisance.

“Ready the nets!” A familiar voice shouted. “It won’t escape this time.”

A celestial bronze net appeared as soon as the girl finished talking, trapping the Chimera, who began to breathe fire continuously, trying to melt off the fibers.

“Leo!” Nico said, coming out of his hiding place. “Got any lead things with you?”

“Huh? Well…” he patted his pockets and toolbelt before pulling out a dark ball barely bigger than a grape. “I melted this a while back to get rid of it, but…”

“It works.” Without another word, Nico took the ball, an arrow that hadn’t hid its mark and broke the head before shouting, “Hey, I don’t know who’s uglier, you or your mother!”

The Chimera stopped its fire breathing to roar. Nico used the respite to throw the items down its throat and move away before the fire resumed.

A few seconds later the Chimera began to choke, thrashing in the net violently, getting steadily weaker by the minute while the rain of arrows continued relentlessly.

“That’s how Bellerophon defeated it,” Annabeth explained. “The lead melted inside its throat, poisoning and burning it from the inside.”

The Chimera stilled. ITs eyes turned glassy as it slowly desintegrated.

“Awful way to go,” Leo winced. “I took that lead from the sink pipes back home. Mom said it was good practice for me.”

“You took our prey,” the girl who had aided them said. They turned to look at her. “But I’ll let it pass because it’s you.”

“Thalia!” Annabeth said, going for a hug. Percy wondered if Annabeth found it strange to grow taller than the girl who used to take care of her. “It’s been ages!”

“Sorry, but the hunt doesn’t exactly get holidays.” She chuckled. “Good to see you in one piece, Kelp Head.”

“Same to you, Pinecone Face.” Percy grinned, behind her the other Hunters of Artemis began gathering. “Where’s Artemis?”

Thalia looked uncomfortable.

“She said it was safer for us if she retired for a while,” she said. “She seemed a little out of it the last time we saw her.”

Annabeth looked at him, worried. Could the Romans have decided to attack already?

He looked at Nico to see what he thought, but the boy was not even looking at them.

His eyes were trained on Artemis’s Second Lieutenant, Bianca di Angelo.

* * *

She had barely changed from the Bianca he remembered. The olive skin, her light brown eyes, the silly hat she wore everywhere in the hotel…

And yet, there she was, treating him like a stranger. In fact, no one in her group except for their leader talked to them sans Annabeth. He guessed it was part of the vow they made to their patron, but it didn’t make him any happier.

“You okay?” Annabeth asked as she sat beside him near the fire. In the background he could still hear Leo muttering to himself as he revised any nook and cranny in the car.

“Not my worst night,” he said, taking a sip of Dr. Pepper. “Just… reevaluating my beliefs.”

“I won’t ask,” she assured him. “I’ll just say you’re underselling people, yourself included.”

“You heard my conversation with Percy.” He sighed. There was no heat in the accusation, but he was surprised he had relaxed enough around them to not notice Annabeth had been awake before the Chimera attacked.

“You’re right, people _are_ selfish,” Annabeth said. “But sometimes they’re selfish by helping others, because they are so precious to them, that seeing them happy makes _you_ happy.”

“Is this going somewhere?” Nico asked, exhausted.

“You helped Percy when you first teleported him, you helped me with the werewolves, you helped Apollo with her daughter,” she listed off. “You might have benefitted too, but I think you’re intelligent enough to know there were other options that served no other than yourself.”

Nico thought about it. Yes, he could have teleported back to camp while Percy was fighting back in Los Angeles, or just give a poorly worded blessing to the daughter of Apollo. Hades, he could have used Annabeth as bait while he spread the Wolfsbane instead of risking his life.

“You went for the option that helped others,” Annabeth continued. “And I think that’s because you’re a good person, and you think we are, too.”

Did he? He was just a defenseless demigod in a world full of monsters. He needed Annabeth and the others to survive. Only family didn’t use you, only family had your best interests at heart.

Yet here was Annabeth, trying to cheer him up despite not knowing why he was morose, while his own sister just stood by the edge of camp, mounting guard.

“Just some food for thought.” She stood up. “You might find life is easier with a brighter outlook on it.”

With that, she went to help Percy set up the tents. Nico stared at them, for once not wondering if there was an ulterior motive.

They were good people, he decided. He didn’t know the first thing about interacting with those. Yet the Fates had shoved him with them. In fact, he had been so focused on reuniting with the Bianca in his mind he had forgotten what his actual sister was like.

Deciding to find out, he crossed the campsite towards the small group of trees where his sister was standing.

“Yeah?” She said as she saw him approach, guarded. Nico stared at her some more, before shrugging.

“Bathroom.”

He went past her and a little deeper into the woods.

The ball was in her court now. How they interacted depended entirely on her.

* * *

“Where is Nico going?” Percy asked as he helped set up the last tent. They had both decided to let Leo work on the car and Nico with his thoughts, leaving them to the immediately useful tasks.

“Maybe he needs to pee?” Annabeth said, trying to appear unconcerned. “Although he seems very interested in Bianca.”

“Ouch,” Leo said all the way from inside the car hood. “You think he knows about the whole ‘no boys’ rule?”

“He has to,” Percy said. “He knows everything about mythology.”

Annabeth couldn’t help feeling irritated at how Percy managed to sound annoyed yet absolutely adoring when he said that.

“Well, you can’t help who you fall for.” Annabeth said with as much bite as she could. Percy frowned.

“Boy, don’t I know it!” Leo shouted. “He will probably need comforting once he comes back.”

“I can do that,” Percy said, looking pensive.

Annabeth glared at the son of Hephaestus, who was still waist-deep inside the car.

“It’s better if we don’t pry.” She let out a huff and cleaned her hands on her jeans. The tents were all set. “We can be there for him, but he’s a very private person, I doubt he’ll tell us anything.”

“I guess so.”

It was strange for Annabeth. She hadn’t been too sympathetic to Rachel back when she and Percy were interested in each other, yet something about Nico made her want to protect him.

He had this kind of unhappy aura about him that made her feel like the world was unfair for not giving him something to be glad about. So, it was her job to provide that.

Unless it was Percy.

Never Percy.

* * *

“How old are you?”

No greeting, no affection. Just a question. Nico wanted o scream.

“About 15,” he said. “You?”

“Complicated question,” Bianca sighed. “We’re technically in our eighties, I stopped aging at 13, but had I not joined Artemis I’d be 16.”

There was an underlying smugness about still being older than he was that was just so Bianca he resisted the urge to smile.

“So, you left the Lotus roughly a year after I was taken.”

Bianca’s eyes narrowed, but after a few seconds she just sighed.

“It’s not like I left of my own volition either,” she said, crossing her arms. “There was a prophecy, and father wanted me to be the one it was about.”

Oh, so she was mad about him leaving without her. Well, then…

“It must have been hard for you,” he said, trying to keep sarcasm to a minimum. “Me? I found out Nike blessed me and was exploited and beaten for nearly three years for it.”

He expected her to worry, get angry on his behalf. Anything but the cool indifference he had been getting.

Bianca frowned.

“And is that supposed to be my fault?” She gritted her teeth. “You _left_ , Nico! Do you know how worried I was when that lawyer said you were already out? And then I found out you could be fifty for all I knew thanks to leaving before me!”

“So you give up on me!” Nico shouted, not caring if someone heard. “How long were you looking before joining the hunters and swearing off any contact with your lost brother? A month? Two?”

“Try nearly a year, you jackass!”

The outburst made him pause.

Bianca never swore. Or rather, the Bianca he _remembered_ never swore. The girl in front of him was still his older sister, but she was also a complete stranger in some ways.

Nico looked at his feet.

“You know, all these years were only bearable because I wanted to get back to you,” Nico whispered. “Things would go back to normal, we would find out about our parents, find a place to call home.”

Bianca was shorter than him now. He only now realized it because of her hand in his chin not having to move much to make him look her in the eye. Her expression had softened, but still was far away from the slightly exasperated smile he remembered.

“Nico,” she said, just like when he came to her crying about older boys pushing him around. “You’ll always be my little brother. I’ll always love you.

“But all those things you want? I found them on my own. The hunt is my home, this is my new normal. I’m a different person… and so are you.”

He knew. In a way, he had always known that things couldn’t go back to how they were before Octavian, but he had hoped that Bianca, untouched by time and this cruel world, would bring back some shred of normalcy to his life.

“It hurt,” Nico said. “You pretending not to know me, when I missed you so much.”

He knew he was crying, but he didn’t care. He was allowed to cry in front of his big sister.

“I know.” She hugged him. He had to bend so he could rest his chin on her shoulders. “I missed you too.”

But she had mixed feelings about the brother she had written off as lost coming back. She had been glad, angry and worried, and her time with Artemis had taught her to hide her emotions, which she did.

They really were brother and sister.

“So now what?” Nico said. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Whatever you want, Nico.” His sister laughed. He could tell she was crying too. “I found my path, you do the same. Go to Camp Half-Blood, make friends. You won’t be alone there, I promise.”

Camp Half-Blood. It didn’t seem like Percy and the others needed to go through all the trouble of hiding that name.

“Will you visit?” Bianca looked at him funny. “What?”

“Nothing,” she smiled. “I can’t promise I’ll go often. Lady Artemis says where we go and when. But whenever we’re close to Long Island I’ll try to drop by, okay?”

“Okay…” He let go of her and started to walk back to the campsite. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“There’s still a lot you don’t know, right?” She asked. “About mom, dad… our past…”

“Yeah, I really only remember you, the Lotus, and a New York hotel.” Nico sighed. “It’s okay, I’ll find out someday.”

“Would you like to find out now?”

* * *

It took nearly an hour for Nico to come back. Percy observed him closely. He seemed calm, maybe even a little happy, but his eyes were slightly puffy, as if he had been crying.

“Hey,” he said, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible. “You okay?”

“Better than I’ve been in a while,” Nico said. He passed them some dark meat. “Here, from the hunters.”

Annabeth took a piece and bit into it, giving an appreciative hum. Percy and Leo followed soon after.

“It’s deer,” he said as he sat beside them. “Caught this morning.”

“Is that legal in this state?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, because the mystical, unaging wandering girls aged ten to sixteen who can control the Mist are a prime target for the Colorado police force.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s probably one of the mythical types of deer anyway. Not exactly a native species.”

They kept eating in silence. After they were done, Leo offered them some coke he had kept in the trunk.

“So, there’s good news and bad news,” he started. Percy, Annabeth and Nico all groaned. “The bad news is, I can’t fix Helena here, we need to go to the nearest town for parts.”

“I’m afraid to ask but,” Percy said. “What is the good news?”

“The good news is, that we have a way to tow our car, with us inside, right here.” He pointed at Nico.

“What?”

“Yeah, you just need to use that weird teleporting trick and get us as close to New York as possible. We save on time _and_ I get my baby fixed. Everybody wins!”

Nico looked uncomfortable.

“I… I don’t know,” Nico said, looking to each of them. “This thing I do is not an exact science, and it always leaves me really tired.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Percy said. “We’ll find another way.”

“But if you could try…” Annabeth said, earning her an incredulous look from Percy. “Haven’t you noticed? If Artemis left her hunters while they were tailing the Chimera, it could be because she’s having trouble… keeping herself together, so to speak.”

“We might have less time than we thought…”

“We still can’t force Nico to—”

“I’ll do it,” Nico said. “I can’t promise I’ll get you guys to New York, but I’ll try to take you as far as I can.”

Percy was ready to argue, but Nico just stared at him. It was necessary, and they both knew it. After about a minute, he relented and sighed.

“Great! That’s decided, then.” Leo gulped down the last of his drink and went to his tent. “We’ll leave before dawn, that dark enough for you, Neeks?”

“As long as it’s an hour or two before, yeah.”

Leo grimaced.

“Okay, sleep well, recharge as much as you can,” Leo said. “Once we’re at a town, I can work on repairing Helena while you contact camp and warn them.”

“Can’t you contact them now?”

“Not bright enough for a rainbow,” Annabeth said. Nico looked confused, but she simply mouthed a ‘later’ to him. “It’s as good a plan as any.”

Percy just looked at all of them, wondering since when Leo made the plans.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, very few hunters were up at 4 in the morning to see them off, but the girl on watch did wake Thalia and Bianca for their goodbyes (how she knew Bianca would like to say goodbye was beyond Nico).

“Have a safe trip!” She said, acting like she was talking to everybody and not just Nico. After all, he had asked to keep their being siblings a secret. “Tell Hestia I said hi, Percy.”

“Will do,” he said. Percy looked at her and then at him with a pondering expression. Nico was certain he suspected something.

“When the Romans are—”

“We can’t help,” Thalia said, grimacing. “I’m sorry, Annabeth, but we have some Roman girls in our ranks, and Artemis is technically on both sides. We have to stay neutral.”

Apparently, Thalia had known about the Romans for a while, but was sworn to secrecy. While they never visited New Rome, the Roman girls talked. There were no secrets in the hunt.

They all got in the car, Nico pulled out both hands and touched the outside of the door.

“So, how does it work?” Bianca asked, interested.

Of course, Hades was her father as well, she wanted to know if she could do it as well as the whole ‘raising zombies and talking to ghosts’ thing.

He would have to give those a try in the future.

“All shadows are connected through Erebus,” he said. “It’s like… mixing this car’s shadow with a shadow in say, Chicago, or China. The car will follow its shadow there.”

“Huh, so that’s how it works,” Annabeth said. “It’s never happened before, but could Erebus be your father?”

“Er… no, I don’t think so.”

“Maybe a male aspect of Hecate,” she said. Nico saw Bianca holding off a giggle. “Her Roman name _is_ Trivia.”

“Let’s just travel now and worry about that later,” Nico said, thinking about any shadow to the East of their location, preferably the tall, pronounced shadow of a skyscraper.

The shadows eagerly raised to his summons and engulfed the car.

The feeling of being pulled to a new location came and went. However, as soon as they arrived, he felt very alert despite the fatigue.

They were not in a city. Wherever they were it was damp and dark, the only source of light a skylight far above.

“Where—”

A torch lit with purple fire, showing a huge empty hall. Helena parked in the middle of it.

“Well, it seems liars and deceivers have entered my den.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess a few of you can guess what mythological being dwells here, and if not, well, next chapter's title will clear this cliffhanger right away.
> 
> In my first draft, Nico and Bianca ended the chapter still mad at each other. A simple issue of "who abandoned who". I changed it because while both characters have holding grudges as a flaw, Nico, both in canon and in this story, puts Bianca on a pedestal. While disappointed in her, he still holds her to such an standard that he would accept her either way. Their conflict is not quite over, but for now it is resolved. It's also a nice way to give Nico one of the pieces of information he has been hunting this arc: the identity of his father, now he only needs to find a way to get rid of Octavian's influence.
> 
> In a way, Nico saw Bianca not only as his missing sister, but also a symbol of his missing innocence. Nico has let his trauma with Octavian dictate who he is, and up to this chapter believed Bianca was the way to go back. But there's no going back, only moving forward. In canon, Nico's arc is one of acceptance (accept Bianca is dead, accept your crush on Percy, accept your lot in life), but this fic has more emphasis on Nico's journey over his end point, so his arc is more one of self-superation, this will become obvious in the next chapter, but the seeds are already here, as seen in his conversations with Percy and Annabeth.
> 
> Lastly, we're entering the back half of this Arc. By my calculations, that means only 4-5 chapters left before going into a new Arc. It may sound like a lot, but I'm also planning them right now to have shorter waits between chapters.
> 
> That's all for now, as always, comments and kudos are both a show of appreciation and appreciated. I love reading what you all think, even if I only rarely respond.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, since this is the first time I'm trying something like this, I'd like to know what you all think.


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